RIYADH: Over two million pilgrims started marching to Mina as the ceremonial activities of hajj, one of five essentially-performed duties of Islam, scheduled to begin on Friday.The pilgrims will perform hajj activities for next five days.This year Bangladeshi pilgrims are performing

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's deep concerns over an Israeli plan to build 2,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem. Obama raised the development in face-to-face talks in the Oval Office on Wednesday, White House

DHAKA: Over 120 Islamic scholars from around the world, many of them leading Muslim voices in their own countries, have issued an open letter denouncing militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and refuting their religious arguments. An array of Muslim leaders and groups

DHAKA: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned against "illegal" protests in Hong Kong, amid major pro-democracy rallies in the territory. Wang, in Washington, said the matter was an "internal affair" for China. US counterpart John Kerry urged Hong Kong to handle the protests - seen

DHAKA: A shell has killed four people at a school in the rebel-held east Ukrainian city of Donetsk in Ukraine, on the first day of classes, BBC reports. Another six people died when a minibus was hit elsewhere in Donetsk.No children were apparently hurt when the school playground was

DHAKA: At least 41 children are among 45 people killed in a twin bombings outside a primary school in the government-controlled city of Homs in central Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.A Syrian pro-government channel broadcast on Wednesday brief footage of

DHAKA: The head of the US Secret Service, tasked with guarding US President Barack Obama, has resigned following several high-profile security lapses, BBC reports.  Julia Pierson offered her resignation to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday. A day

DHAKA: The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs, as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.  Arthur

DHAKA: UK prime minister David Cameron detailed his plan for winning the 2015 general election Wednesday with a raft of measures designed to help struggling Britons and shut down support for the UK Independence Party.Closing his Conservative Party’s annual conference, Cameron

DHAKA: A student leader vowed Wednesday to step up Hong Kong’s huge pro-democracy protests, including a possible occupation of government offices, unless the city’s leader steps down within a day, as support for the movement grew around the world.The announcement came as tens of

DHAKA: The New York Times said Wednesday it plans to cut 100 newsroom jobs in the latest move by the prestigious daily to adapt to industry upheaval.‘The job losses are necessary to control our costs and to allow us to continue to invest in the digital future of The New York Times,

DHAKA: Seven more bodies have been found by rescuers combing the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted at the weekend, officials said on Wednesday, taking the death toll to at least 43. The seven are in addition to the 36 already known to have died when Mount Ontake burst to life

DHAKA: Thousands of protesters have thronged the streets of Hong Kong, ratcheting up pressure on the pro-Beijing government that has called the demonstrations illegal, and vowed to press ahead with their biggest protest so far.As Hong Kong observed National Day on Wednesday, marking

DHAKA: 12 people have been killed and over 40 injured after two passenger trains collided in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday night. The accident took place around 10:45 pm near Gorakhpur town nearly 270 km from state capital Lucknow, reports NDTV.Krishak Express, travelling from

DHAKA: The student organisers of Hong Kong’s massive street protests have issued an ultimatum: Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying must step down before the start of any negotiation to end the civil disobedience campaign. Otherwise, the protests will continue, they warned, reports The

DHAKA: An Egyptian court sentenced 68 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to jail terms on Tuesday, judicial sources said, in a case related to deadly violence a year ago after the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. All were found guilty of killing 30 people and intending to

Melbourne experienced cyclonic storm, damaging wind suddenly after 3PM toady 30, September catching many citizen off guard and causing significant disruption to traffic movement for falling trees and road crashes. Melbourne emergency services through smart emergency response within few

DHAKA: The US State Department said in a press conference that it disagrees with prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s assertion during his UN speech on Monday that ‘ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree’. ‘Obviously, we’ve designated both as terrorist

DHAKA: Israel defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Tuesday that Hamas ‘did not intend’ to initiate hostilities against Israel in the days leading up to Operation Protective Edge, though the Palestinian Islamist group ‘was planning to carry out kidnappings of Israelis in the West

DHAKA: The global loss of species is even worse than previously thought, the London Zoological Society (ZSL) says in its new Living Planet Index.The report suggests populations have halved in 40 years, as new methodology gives more alarming results than in a report two years ago.The