DHAKA: The CIA has revealed it once considered creating and using a very different type of weapon in the fight against terrorism: a doll. An Osama bin Laden action figure with an evil-looking face, reports CNN. The spy agency began quietly developing the bin Laden doll in 2005, as first

DHAKA: Islamist-led militants and pro-government forces are engaged in fierce battles for the Baiji oil refinery and Tal Afar airport in northern Iraq. Baiji, Iraq’s biggest refinery, is surrounded by the rebels, who say they have seized most of Tal Afar airport, reports the BBC. The

DHAKA: At least 34 people have been killed in an explosion in central Syria on Friday. Al Jazeera reports according to Syrian state television. State television’s report said a bomb exploded on Friday morning in the government-controlled Horrah village, which is in the countryside

DHAKA: The next phase of the hunt for missing Malaysian jet MH370 will move hundreds of miles south. The search will focus on an area 1,800km (1,100 miles) off the city of Perth, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief Martin Dolan said. Nearby areas were previously surveyed

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama says the US will send 300 military advisers to Iraq to help fight Islamist-led insurgents. Obama said the US was prepared for “targeted and precise military action, if and when” required, but added that US troops would not fight in Iraq. He insisted

DHAKA: At least 10 people have died and several are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria. The officials said it which reports the BBC. Floodwaters in the Black Sea port city of Varna surged up to 1m (3.2ft). Many residents had to be rescued as cars were

DHAKA: Kenyan security forces have killed five people suspected of involvement in attacks that killed at least 60 people, BBC reports. The interior ministry said the suspects were shot dead while trying to escape Kenyan forces near Mpeketoni.The small coastal town was the scene of two

DHAKA: France unveiled on Thursday plans to boost tourism and said it needed to eradicate its surly reputation as its status as the world’s top destination for foreign visitors faces increasingly stiff competition. Speaking at the close of a national conference on tourism, foreign

DHAKA: Afghanistan’s election crisis deepened Thursday when presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said he would reject the result because his claims of massive fraud have failed to stop the ongoing vote count. Abdullah’s complaints about alleged fraud in the run-off election have

DHAKA: The Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, representing more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, affirmed on Thursday a commitment to unity in combating ‘sectarian’ policies. A two-day meeting in the Red Sea city of Jeddah affirmed that OIC members will stand

DHAKA: India’s new government struggled on Thursday to make headway in its first foreign crisis as it tried to secure the release of 40 construction workers being held in war-torn Iraq, home to some 10,000 Indian expatriates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already dispatched a former

DHAKA: Unknown gunmen shot dead a popular female singer in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar in the latest attack against women artistes. Officials said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times. Gulnar, 38, famous under her performing name Muskan, was shot by four gunmen who

DHAKA: Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday US air strikes on militants in Iraq could cause a high number of civilian deaths and that Washington did not view such a strategy favourably. ‘America, with its current stance and the statements it has made, does not view

DHAKA: Four Taliban militants struck a Nato post in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Thursday, destroying dozens of trucks and sparking a gun battle with the police. Afghan officials said, reports The Straits Times. The attack took place in the parking compound of a Nato base

DHAKA: India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi has postponed a visit to Japan which had been expected to take place early next month. The foreign ministry said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times. ‘The dates we were looking at for the visit in early July will now be reworked

DHAKA: A Twitter account Iran experts believe is run by the office of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in comments apparently inspired by Iraq’s turmoil, accused Sunni militants on Thursday of wanting to bring about a war in the Muslim world. Shia Iran has been alarmed by rapid

DHAKA: Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists were locked in a fierce battle in the rebellious east of the country on Thursday. Ukrainian military sources said, reports The Straits Times. The sources said there were reports that tanks had been deployed by both sides but this could

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama has told Congressional leaders he does not need lawmakers’ approval for any action in Iraq. The top Senate Republican says, reports the BBC. Senator Mitch McConnell was speaking after a meeting between the president and senior members of Congress.

DHAKA: Several families of 40 Indian construction workers abducted in strife-torn northern Iraq say they have spoken with the men, whose captors claim they will be freed unharmed. Reports said Thursday, according to The Straits Times. India’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday

DHAKA: King Felipe VI took the Spanish crown on Thursday, setting the stage for celebrations in the flag-festooned capital a day after his father quit the throne with tears in his eyes. The 46-year-old former Olympic yachtsman, who stands nearly two meters tall, assumed the crown after