DHAKA: The sultan of Brunei has announced a controversial new penal code based on Islamic criminal punishments criticized by UN human rights officials. ‘Today... I place my faith in and am grateful to God the almighty to announce that tomorrow, Thursday May 1, will see the enforcement

DHAKA: The whole of Gujarat and Punjab is voting today in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha election along with some seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that will decide the fate of top guns including Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.   Telangana, the new

DHAKA: Iraqis are voting in the country's first parliamentary elections since the withdrawal of US troops three years ago. Polling began at 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT) and closes at 18:00. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping to win a third term in office amid a growing insurgency

DHAKA: Turkey is to start extradition proceedings against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. Gulen, a former ally of the prime minister, has been accused by Erdogan of using his supporters to try to topple him. The cleric denies mounting a campaign

DHAKA: Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday derided hardliners critical of his style of governance and outreach to the West, saying they do not speak for the country. After a backlash stemming from rising prices of fuel, utilities and basic foods, Rouhani’s administration is

DHAKA: A large crowd of pro-Russian activists has stormed the regional administration’s headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk. Hundreds of people, led by about 20 youths armed with metal bars, were attempting to take over the building. A few dozen activists shouting

DHAKA: At least 37 people have been killed in explosions in the Syrian city of Homs, officials say. The attacks, which involved at least one car bomb, also injured dozens, reports the BBC. Earlier, at least 14 people were killed and more than 80 wounded in a mortar attack on a technical

DHAKA: Cricket-mad teenager Dhaval Lodaya was on his way to a temple when his Mumbai train derailed and he bled to death, becoming one of the ten people who die every day on the city’s rail network.  Known as the lifeline of India’s congested financial capital, the low-fare trains

DHAKA: Four new candidates have submitted applications to run for Syria’s presidency in elections that are expected to return president Bashar al-Assad to power next month. The parliamentary speaker said Tuesday, reports daily Hurriyet. Mohamed al-Lahham announced the names of the

DHAKA: A Muslim woman in eastern India has alleged she was gang-raped by more than a dozen men because of her work helping the Hindu nationalist opposition in ongoing elections. Police said Tuesday, reports The Straits Times. The woman from Jharkhand state has filed a complaint with

DHAKA: South Korea’s coastguard on Monday released a video showing the captain of a sinking ferry scrambling to safety as hundreds remained trapped inside, a move expected to intensify criticism of the crew over the disaster. The 10-minute video, taken by rescue officials and aired on

DHAKA: Twelve people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a mortar attack on a technical institute in central Damascus. Syrian state media say, reports the BBC. Four mortar shells struck the mainly Shia Shaghour neighbourhood of the city, police told the Sana news agency. Two of

DHAKA: United States president Barack Obama said a 10-year defence pact that the Philippines and the United States signed yesterday is not meant to counter or contain a rising China. ‘Our goal is not to counter China, our goal is not to contain China. Our goal is to make sure

DHAKA: The authorities are cancelling air and ship searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane and have switched to a larger underwater operation that will cost 60 million Australian dollars and could take at least eight months to complete. Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said

DHAKA: Israel approved plans for nearly 14,000 new settler homes during the nine months of peace talks with the Palestinians, an Israeli settlement watchdog said on Tuesday as the negotiation period formally ended. Figures quoted by Peace Now showed that during the talks, Israeli prime

DHAKA: Workers on London's Underground train system kicked off a 48-hour strike at 9:00pm (on Tuesday, threatening chaos for commuters on Wednesday and Thursday. Dozens of ‘Tube’ stations will remain shut and lines will either be entirely closed or carry a limited service as

DHAKA: Deadly twisters lashed Alabama and Mississippi on Monday as the South took a violent second-day assault from spring storms. Seven people were reported killed in Mississippi and as many as six were reported killed in Alabama, although only two had been confirmed and the total was

DHAKA: North Korea has begun a live-fire drill near its maritime border with South Korea, one month after a similar exercise triggered the exchange of hundreds of artillery shells across the disputed boundary. The firing began at about 2 PM local time (0500 GMT) and no rounds appeared to

DHAKA: At least 10 people were killed and 20 others wounded in twin bombings at a market in a town northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday. The 10:00am blasts in Saadiyah came a day after a suicide bomb in the nearby town Khanaqin which killed 30 people, with Iraq due to hold its first

DHAKA: People in northern Mississippi and Alabama huddled in hallways and basements as a string of tornadoes ripped through their states Monday, a day after another line of storms killed 16 people to their west. Two people were killed at a trailer park west of Athens, Alabama, on Monday,