DHAKA: Haze shrouded the Republic on Wednesday, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index reading 102 at 8:00pm. A PSI reading over 100 refers to unhealthy air quality, while a reading of between 50 and 100 is moderate. The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in its daily haze

DHAKA: The people of Scotland will decide on Thursday whether to end a partnership with the rest of the United Kingdom that has lasted more than 300 years. Here is a guide to Scotland as the historic vote nears. What is Scotland? Scotland, with little more than 5 million people, is one

DHAKA: China president Xi Jinping has begun his first official visit to India, with a focus on improving trade ties and resolving the decades-old dispute over border areas. China is one of India’s top trading partners and the Asian neighbours are the world’s most populous countries.

DHAKA: The militant Islamic State (IS) group has released a video warning the United States that fighters await it in Iraq if president Barack Obama sends troops there, as he and his top general said may happen. The 52-second video entitled ‘Flames of War’ shows militants blowing up

DHAKA: Almost 50 people have been killed by Syrian government air strikes in an opposition-held town. Activists say, reports the BBC. Six children were among those who died as Talbiseh, in Homs province, was bombarded for two days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. A

DHAKA: At least 67 South Africans were killed when a church hostel belonging to Nigerian TV evangelist TB Joshua collapsed in Lagos last week. South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma has said, reports the BBC. It is not clear how many people died overall, as the previous death toll was

DHAKA: India prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday morning met his mother in Gandhinagar to seek her blessings and received calls from his president Pranab Mukherjee and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. Modi, who turned 64, went to Gandhinagar, 23 km from Ahmedabad, alone in a normal

DHAKA: A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck 40km northwest of the Pacific island of Guam on Wednesday.The United States Geological Survey said, reports The Straits Times.The quake struck at more than 160km deep, it said, after originally putting the magnitude at 6.9.The Pacific Tsunami

DHAKA: American ground troops could be deployed against Islamic State and the Levante (ISIL) fighters in Iraq, according to the most senior US military officer.General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US military's joint chiefs of staff, said on Tuesday he might recommend having US

DHAKA: President Barack Obama has called the West Africa Ebola outbreak "a threat to global security" as he announced a larger US role in fighting the virus."The world is looking to the United States," Mr Obama said, but added the outbreak required a "global response".The measures

DHAKA: Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Russia needed to increase its military presence on the Crimea peninsula due to the crisis in Ukraine. News agencies reported, says TDS. ‘The deployment of proper and self-sufficient forces in the direction of Crimea is

DHAKA: More than $1bn is needed to fight the West Africa Ebola outbreak, a tenfold increase in the past month. The UN’s Ebola co-ordinator has said, reports the BBC. David Nabarro made the announcement as the World Health Organization (WHO) described the health crisis as

DHAKA: Pro-Russian rebels released dozens of captive Ukrainian troops Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal, CNN reports.  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Twitter post that 73 troops were released in Donetsk. But despite the ceasefire, violence continued to flare in the

DHAKA: Twelve Nigerian soldiers have been sentenced to death for mutiny and attempted murder after shots were fired at their commanding officer in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri in May, BBC reports.  The soldiers were angry after a convoy was ambushed on a road frequently targeted

DHAKA: At least three coalition soldiers died after a Taliban suicide car bomber rammed into a foreign military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul. Nato says, reports the BBC. Another 16 civilians were injured, according to Afghan government sources. The blast took place in heavy

DHAKA: President Obama on Tuesday will announce an expansion of a $763 million US plan to help West Africa nations fight the spread of the Ebola virus, officials said. Adding to an existing project, the project calls for more doctors and health care providers, more portable hospitals

DHAKA: The US has carried out airstrikes in Iraq in support of troops who were being attacked by Islamic State (IS) fighters, reports BBC quoting the US military sources.It said that the attacks took place on Sunday and Monday near Mount Sinjar and south-west of Baghdad.They were the

DHAKA: About 500 migrants are feared dead after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta last week, a migration body said.Two Palestinian survivors told the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that the boat had been intentionally sunk by traffickers, reports

DHAKA: About 1,300 troops from 15 countries, including the US and other Nato members, have begun a military exercise near Lviv in western Ukraine.The US says the drill had been planned before the current crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been battling pro-Russian

DHAKA: Thirty countries have pledged to help Iraq fight Islamic State (IS) militants ‘by all means necessary’.A joint statement by foreign ministers taking part in a major conference in Paris talks said support would include ‘appropriate military assistance’, reports the