DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Kiev on Tuesday for talks with Ukraine’s interim government, amid an escalating crisis in Crimea.Officials travelling with Kerry said the United States would offer US$1 billion to financially-stricken Ukraine as part of an international

DHAKA: Egypt’s armed forces chief, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has said he cannot ignore calls by the majority for him to run for president.He told journalists ‘official procedures’ regarding his candidacy were expected in the coming days, Egypt’s state news agency

DHAKA: Ukraine’s telecommunications system has come under attack, with equipment installed in Russian-controlled Crimea used to interfere with the mobile phones of members of parliament.The head of Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.‘I confirm

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin tells a news conference Tuesday that no need to send in troops to Ukraine now, but the possibility of this remains.Deployment of Russian armed forces is the last resort, he added.The Russian president says the events in Ukraine which toppled

DHAKA: No ‘solution is in sight’ on the Ukraine crisis, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday after a ‘difficult’ talk in Geneva with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.‘I had a difficult, long and very serious talk but it wasn’t enough to say that a

DHAKA: Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra could face murder charges after relatives of two anti-government protesters who died following clashes with police filed a complaint with a criminal court.A lawyer said Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.The protesters were among six people,

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered troops that took part in military exercises this week to return to base.Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying on Tuesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Dmitry Peskov said the military exercises, which Moscow denied

DHAKA: An Egyptian court on Tuesday banned all activities of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Egypt.A judge said, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘The court has ordered the banning of Hamas work and activities in Egypt," the judge, who asked to remain anonymous, told media.Hamas is an

DHAKA: Bill Gates has returned to the top of Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s richest people, as rising stock markets swelled the ranks of billionaires, which included a record number of women.With a net worth of US$76 billion, the Microsoft Corp co-founder reclaimed the

DHAKA: Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych asked Russia to send troops across the border to protect civilians, Moscow`s UN envoy has claimed.Vitaly Churkin told a Security Council meeting Mr Yanukovych wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.Thousands of Russian

DHAKA: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday harshly criticised threats of ‘sanctions and boycotts’ over his country’s role in the spiralling crisis in Ukraine, as Western powers ponder whether to kick Moscow out of the G8.‘Those who try to interpret the situation as a

DHAKA: Russia has vowed its troops will remain in Ukraine to protect Russian interests and citizens until the political situation has been ‘normalised’.Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was defending human rights against ‘ultra-nationalist threats’, reports the

DHAKA: China, which consistently says it opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, is looking to ‘maintain principles’ on Ukraine.It said on Monday after Russia insisted the two were in broad agreement, reports The Straits Times.Moscow has appeared keen to stress

DHAKA: UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called Monday on Russia to avoid actions that might worsen the situation in crisis-hit Ukraine.‘I urge the Russian Federation to refrain from any acts and rhetoric that could further escalate the situation,’ Ban said to the press ahead of a

DHAKA: Russia’s rouble has fallen to a fresh all-time low against both the dollar and the euro after the political turmoil in Ukraine intensified.The rouble fell 2.5% to 36.5 roubles against the dollar and 1.5% against the euro to 50.30.Stocks on Moscow’s MICEX main stock index also

DHAKA: Russia has tightened its military grip on Ukraine’s Crimea region, taking de facto control despite Western demands that it withdraw.Thousands of Russian troops are securing the region. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said they were defending Russian citizens and human

DHAKA: Climbers scaling Mount Everest will have to bring back eight kilograms of garbage under new rules designed to clean up the world’s highest peak.A Nepalese official said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.The rule, one of several new measures for mountaineering in the Himalayan

DHAKA: Israel prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said upon arriving in the United States on Monday that for peace in the Middle East to take hold, the Palestinians must demonstrate their desire to reach a solution.‘The tango in the Middle East needs at least three,’ Netanyahu

DHAKA: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi in Geneva on Monday at a human rights council session.Russian agencies reported, says The Jerusalem Post.They gave no further details, but since the last round of talks

DHAKA:  At least 11 people, including additional sessions judge Rafaqat Awan, were killed on Monday when unidentified assailants opened fire and threw crackers in a court in the capital city’s F-8 area, DawnNews reported.Twenty-five people were reportedly injured in the