Saturday, 11 Jan, 2025

International

‘UN report won’t directly accuse Assad’

DHAKA: French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday that UN inspectors who investigated an August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria would ‘probably’ publish their report on Monday.Diplomats have said the report is unlikely to pin blame on either Syrian president Bashar

Russia offers four step plans for Syria arms handover

DHAKA: Russia has handed the United States a plan for the Syrian regime to hand over its chemical weapons in four stages, starting with Damascus becoming a member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.The plan, first announced by Moscow this week, aims to avert

Curfew relaxed in India’s riot-hit areas

DHAKA: With normalcy returning to riot-hit areas of the district, curfew was relaxed for seven hours on Thursday.‘The administration has decided to relax curfew in three police station areas between 10am to 5pm,’ district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said, reports The Times of

Advani under fire for opposing Modi’s PM nomination

DHAKA: Former Bihar deputy chief minister and the state’s BJP chief Sushil Kumar Modi became the first top ranking leader within the saffron party to directly attack LK Advani for his opposition to Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial candidature.‘Advaniji has failed to gauge the

CIA begins arms transfer to Syrian rebel groups

DHAKA: The CIA has started to deliver arms to Syrian rebels, after long months during which such aid was promise, according to a report by the Washington Post.The report said that both Syrian and US officials confirmed that the arms transfer had begun, though no one was quoted as saying

China sets coal use target to tackle air pollution

DHAKA: China will aim to cut total coal consumption to below 65 percent of total primary energy use by 2017 as part of a comprehensive new plan to tackle air pollution, the government said on Thursday.China will also stop approving new thermal power plants in key industrial areas such as

Syria opposition rejects Russian arms initiative

DHAKA: A Western-backed Syrian rebel leadership council has rejected a Russian initiative to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.The group said in a video statement, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘We announce our definitive rejection of the Russian initiative to

Filipino rebels attack second southern town

DHAKA: Philippine troops battled Muslim rebels on two fronts on Thursday, after the insurgents attacked a second town near the southern port where they are holding scores of residents hostage in a standoff with government forces.The rebels attacked predominantly Christian outskirts of

Al-Jazeera in legal action claiming Egypt harassment

DHAKA: Qatari-owned news channel Al-Jazeera has launched legal action against the Egyptian authorities, saying that its journalists have been detained without charge and attacked.Al-Jazeera’s London-based lawyers announced on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.The network said it had

‘UN report on Syria likely to come on Monday’

DHAKA: A report by United Nations inspectors probing a chemical weapons attack in Syria will ‘probably’ be published on Monday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday.‘It will say that there was a chemical massacre,’ he told French radio, reports The Straits

35 killed in Iraq car bombing

DHAKA: Two explosions near a Shia mosque in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have killed at least 35 people, officials say.At least 55 others were wounded in the attack in the largely Shia district of Kasra as worshippers were leaving the mosque after evening prayers.No-one has yet said they

Woman arrested with `cocaine bump`

DHAKA: A Canadian national has been arrested in Colombia after trying to board a flight to Toronto with a phony pregnant belly stuffed with cocaine, police say.The tourist caught the attention of a policewoman at Bogota`s International Airport who allegedly asked her how far along she

Putin issues plea to US over Syria

DHAKA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a direct personal appeal to the American people over the Syrian crisis.In an opinion article in the New York Times, he warns that a US military strike against Syria could unleash a new wave of terrorism.He says millions of people see the US

Nigeria president sacks 9 ministers

DHAKA: Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan has sacked nine cabinet ministers, amid serious divisions in the governing party.Two weeks ago, seven of the country`s powerful state governors and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar formed a splinter-group in the PDP.They were angry after

US marks 9/11 attacks anniversary

DHAKA: The US is remembering the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary.The 11 September 2001 attacks killed almost 3,000 people in New York, the Washington DC area and Pennsylvania.In New York, families of the victims are reading the names of

Curfew relaxed in India’s riot-hit areas

DHAKA: With the situation limping back to normalcy, the district administration on Wednesday decided to relax curfew for four hours from noon in three areas of riot-hit Muzaffarnagar.District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said curfew would be relaxed for four hours from 12 noon. Death

6 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai blasts

DHAKA: Six Egyptian soldiers were killed after explosions near a military intelligence building in the Sinai peninsula town of Rafah on Wednesday.Egypt’s state news agency Egynews reported, says CNN.The Sinai is a lawless area that has been the site of frequent attacks.Egypt has been

Russia continues missile system deliveries to Syria

DHAKA: Russian Pantsir missile system deliveries to Syria are continuing under earlier signed contracts, said Alexander Denisov.The shipments of Pantsir missile systems to the United Arab Emirates will be completed this year, Denisov, Vysokotochny-High-Precision Complex Holding’s

Saudi Arabia suspends 18 preachers

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia suspended 18 Friday preachers last month, charging that their sermons referred to complex political issues related to events unfolding in Arab countries.All the preachers were investigated for failing to follow the religious purpose of the Friday sermons, Tawfeeq Al

Islamists kill 12 Syrians in Alawite village

DHAKA: Fighters from an al Qaeda-linked rebel group killed 12 members of the minority Alawite sect in central Syria after seizing their village.An opposition monitoring group said on Wednesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Alawites are an offshoot sect of Shia Islam and have been