DHAKA: US president Barack Obama has announced further sanctions on Russian officials and a bank over the crisis in Crimea.Obama said the US was watching with concern the situation in southern and eastern Ukraine, and he had signed an executive order enabling the US to impose economic

DHAKA: US First Lady Michelle Obama is in China for a week-long visit that includes stops in Beijing and Chengdu.Michelle is accompanied by her mother and two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan will accompany her on part of her trip.In a blog, she said she would

DHAKA: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he hopes to resume formal talks with North Korea as soon as possible.Abe also said that talks between officials from the Japanese and North Korean affiliates of the Red Cross this month on the return of the remains of Japanese

DHAKA: Almost half of Syria’s declared stockpile of chemical weapons has now been removed, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says.Two additional consignments of the most dangerous chemicals were loaded on to cargo vessels at Latakia over the past week, according

DHAKA: Ukraine announced plans to drop out of a key post-Soviet alliance and slap entry visas on Russians while also preparing for a possible Crimean withdrawal following the Kremlin’s absorption of the peninsula.Kiev’s first firm response to Russia’s claim to the strategic Black

DHAKA: Australia expects to make a quick deliberation on whether possible debris seen at sea is indeed from flight MH370, a report said on Thursday, but a first spotter flight failed to locate anything in bad weather.Authorities should know something definite on the possible discovery of

DHAKA: The legal process required to make Crimea part of Russia will be completed this week.Russia foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, two days after president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to bring the Ukrainian region into Russia, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘Practical

DHAKA: At least ten people were killed and five injured on Thursday when a train crashed into a bus carrying factory workers in Turkey’s southern city of Mersin.Turkey state broadcaster TRT said 10 people were killed, says The Straits Times.The minibus was carrying the workers to an

DHAKA: Australia has sent aircraft to investigate two objects spotted by satellite floating in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from a Malaysian jetliner missing with 239 people on board.Australia prime minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.No

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama said the search for the missing Malaysian airliner was a ‘top priority’ for the United States and offered every possible resource, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.In his first on camera comments on the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight

DHAK: A court in the Indian city of Mumbai has convicted four men of the gang rape of a photojournalist last year.The men have been found guilty of five offences, including gang rape, unnatural sex and destruction of evidence.Sentencing is set for Friday, reports the BBC.The 22-year-old

DHAKA: At least four people have died after a suspected suicide attack on a police station in eastern Afghanistan.Police officials in the city of Jalalabad say gun battles started after a "multi-pronged" attack by insurgents, reports BBC.Reports suggest a suicide car bomber targeted the

DHAKA: Russia and the United States exchanged threats at a tense UN Security Council meeting over the Ukraine crisis, with the Russian envoy saying the US ambassador`s "insults" are jeopardising Moscow`s willingness to cooperate with Washington on other diplomatic matters.It was the

DHAKA: Ukraine is drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea, Kiev`s security chief says.Andriy Parubiy said they wanted to move them "quickly and efficiently" to mainland Ukraine, reports BBC.Earlier, pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases - including

DHAKA: Australian search planes have been diverted to find two objects in the southern Indian Ocean "possibly related" to the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament that "new and credible information has come to light" relating to

DHAKA: It will be very difficult to overcome differences between Iran and six world powers over Teheran’s uranium enrichment programme, though all parties aim to adhere to their six-month deadline to reach a nuclear deal.A senior US official said on Wednesday, reports The Straits

DHAKA: United Nations secretary general Ban Ki Moon is heading to Russia and the Ukraine to encourage a peaceful settlement of the crisis threatening conflict between them.His office said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.Ban will meet with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in

DHAKA: British prime minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that G7 nations meeting next week must discuss the permanent expulsion of Russia from the wider G8 following the crisis in Crimea.‘I think we should be discussing whether or not to expel Russia permanently from the G8 if

DHAKA: The United States has condemned Russian president Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and said it is preparing a fresh round of sanctions in response to the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.But sources in the Indian government say New Delhi will not

DHAKA: Russia is on a ‘dark path’ to isolation over its actions in Ukraine and the United States will respond to any aggression against Nato allies.US vice president Joe Biden said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.Biden made the comments during a trip to Lithuania to reassure