DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday hosts the first high-level meeting of the 60-member coalition trying to crush the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Kerry, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi and foreign ministers from European, Arab and other countries will meet at

DHAKA: Hong Kong students vowed to stay put at protest sites in key parts of the Asia financial centre on Wednesday in their demand for electoral reforms, defying calls by leaders of the civil disobedience movement Occupy Central for them to retreat. Hundreds remained at the main protest

DHAKA: Iran has conducted air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in eastern Iraq during recent days, a Pentagon spokesman says. Rear Adm John Kirby said the US, which has conducted its own air strikes in Iraq, was not co-ordinating with Iran. A senior Iranian military official

DHAKA: More than 180 supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood have been sentenced to death in Egypt over a 2013 attack on a police station near Cairo.The attack took place on the same day as Egyptian security forces broke up protest camps set up by Brotherhood supporters, leaving

DHAKA: The head of Al-Azhar, one of the most prestigious centres of Sunni Islam learning, on Wednesday condemned ‘barbaric crimes’ committed by the Islamic State (IS).Militants of the extremist Sunni Islam group are acting ‘under the guise of this holy religion and have given

DHAKA: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy occupation is entering its death throes with radical splinter groups pushing for more direct action but others urging retreat.Analysts said Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.But regardless of how the occupation ends, the protests have already had a

DHAKA: Lebanese security forces have detained a wife and son of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi near the border with Syria.The army says, reports the BBC.The pair, whose names were not given, were picked up by military intelligence after entering Lebanon 10 days ago.The

DHAKA: Egypt’s public prosecutor appealed on Tuesday against a court decision last Friday to drop charges against former president Hosni Mubarak, his interior minister and six aides over the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising, citing flaws in the ruling.‘A study of the

DHAKA: Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels have ‘agreed in principle’ on a ceasefire in the eastern war-torn region of Lugansk, one of the former Soviet state’s two separatists provinces.The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said, reports The Straits

DHAKA: Gunmen have killed some 36 quarry workers near the north Kenyan town of Mandera. Aid workers and officials say, reports the BBC. The attackers separated Muslims from non-Muslims and shot the Christians dead, residents said. Earlier, one person was killed in a bar popular with

DHAKA: The first ten months of 2014 have been the hottest since record keeping began more than 130 years ago, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in USA.Though, that may be hard to believe for people in places which saw a record early

DHAKA: Iran will convert more of its higher-grade enriched uranium into reactor fuel under an interim nuclear deal with six world powers, making the material less suitable for building atomic bombs.A diplomatic source said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.Iran and the United

DHAKA: At least 16 Iraqi border guards were killed on Monday in a dawn assault by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group on their post near the Syrian border.Provincial and security officials said, reports The Straits Times.‘Sixteen border guards, including a captain, were

DHAKA: Partial results from Moldova’s parliamentary elections show that pro-EU parties have a narrow lead over those backing closer ties with Russia.With 80% of the votes counted, the three pro-Western parties have about 44%. The opposition has 40%.No party appears to be able to form a

DHAKA: Taiwan’s cabinet resigned en masse on Monday after the ruling party suffered a massive defeat at the island’s biggest ever local elections.The ruling Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) had their power slashed across Taiwan at the key polls Saturday, with Premier Jiang

DHAKA: The head of the UN Ebola response mission in West Africa has told the BBC there is still a ‘huge risk’ the deadly disease could spread to other parts of the world.Tony Banbury declined to say if targets he had set in the fight against Ebola, to be achieved by Monday, had been

DHAKA: Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan Monday threatened to "shut down" the entire country by December 16 if the Nawaz Sharif Government failed to initiate an impartial probe into the alleged rigging in 2013 general elections.The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief, in a

DHAKA: Maoist guerrillas ambushed a paramilitary patrol in eastern India on Monday, killing 13 policemen in the biggest rebel attack this year.A state police officer said, reports The Straits Times.The attack took place in remote Sukma district, in the jungle of Chhattisgarh state,

DHAKA: Hong Kong police have clashed with pro-democracy activists trying to surround government offices, in some of the worst unrest in two months of protests. Protesters fought police armed with pepper spray and batons on roads around the camp in the Admiralty district. Police say 40

DHAKA: Moldova is voting in parliamentary elections which are widely seen as a contest between pro-EU parties and those backing closer ties with Russia.Recent opinion polls gave a lead to the pro-Westerners, but tough post-election bargaining is predicted.On the eve of the vote, one