DHAKA: The Syrian government and rebels fighting to oust president Bashar Assad appear to have reached an agreement on allowing humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city of Homs.The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘The issue of humanitarian access

DHAKA: Iran is prepared to modify its planned Arak heavy water reactor to help allay Western concerns, its nuclear energy chief said in published remarks that could be the first such suggestion by a senior Iranian official.Western powers, preparing for negotiations with Iran on a

DHAKA: North Korea has threatened to cancel family reunions with the South, a day after agreeing to hold them.Its top military body said in a statement that it would reconsider the deal if joint US-South Korea military exercises went ahead.‘Dialogue and exercises of war’ could not go

DHAKA: Millions of Londoners faced another morning of travel chaos on Thursday as a 48-hour strike by London Underground workers angry at ticket office closures and job cuts entered its second day.Staff from the two main rail unions began the first of two planned 48-hour tube strikes late

DHAKA: The first formal meeting between Pakistan government and a Taliban-nominated team has begun in an undisclosed location, local media say.They are due to start charting a ‘roadmap’ for peace talks, reports the BBC.The talks were delayed earlier in the week after the government

DHAKA: The Italian navy has rescued more than 1,100 migrants from nine large rafts in the waters south of Sicily, the latest arrivals from North Africa.Patrol helicopters identified the overcrowded rafts on Wednesday and four navy vessels participated in the rescue which ended early on

  DHAKA: Egypt’s army chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has said he will run for president. A Kuwaiti newspaper says, reports the BBC. Asked by the al-Seyassah newspaper if he would be standing, the army chief said he had to meet the wishes of the Egyptian people and run for

  DHAKA: India’s government has decided to extend the country’s limited visa-on-arrival scheme to tourists from 180 countries in an attempt to boost tourism and business. The only exceptions to the scheme will be nationals from eight countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  DHAKA: Rescue workers at a South African gold mine say they have recovered eight bodies after a fire and rock fall. One other miner remains missing at the Doornkop mine west of Johannesburg, the government said. Earlier, eight other miners were found in an underground refuge chamber

DHAKA: Negotiators representing Taliban insurgents said on Wednesday there was no chance of peace in Pakistan until the government embraces Islamic sharia law and US-led forces withdraw completely from neighbouring Afghanistan.The tough conditions appear to deal a blow to hopes that talks

DHAKA: Workers on London’s Underground train system kicked off a 48-hour strike at 9:00pm (2100 GMT) 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

  DHAKA: The bodies of around 400 dolphins washed up on beaches in northern Peru last month, baffling authorities who are so far mystified as to the cause. Officials said on Tuesday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Wednesday. The mammals’ remains were found on beaches

DHAKA: North and South Korea have agreed to hold a reunion later this month for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Officials from both sides meeting in the border truce village of Panmunjom, decided on Wednesday the reunion would be held on February 20-25 at the North`s Mount

DHAKA: The United Nations has accused both sides to the Syria conflict of grave violations against children. Children caught in the Syrian war are being recruited as child soldiers, used as human shields, and tortured, according to a new UN report. The report, released on Tuesday, found

DHAKA: Myanmar has detained several journalists after they published allegations of a military facility producing chemical weapons, according to their newspaper editor, as a media watchdog raised fears over press freedom.Five journalists including the chief executive of the Unity Weekly

DHAKA: Sweden’s foreign minister, the latest high-level Western diplomat to visit Teheran, said on Tuesday that a comprehensive international nuclear agreement with Iran is possible within six months, media reported.‘If there is a good will on both sides a deal is possible within a

DHAKA: Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai has been holding secret talks with Taliban officials in the hope of persuading them to make peace with his government.The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed Afghan and Western officials, reports TDS.Karzai’s spokesman could

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Monday that punishes citizens who fight in conflicts outside the kingdom, with prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years in jail.The statement issued by the Saudi Royal Court also says that any Saudi citizen who joins

DHAKA: Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych could call early elections if he cannot strike a deal with the opposition, a top lawmaker said on Tuesday ahead of a parliament session where protest leaders will press for concessions.Yuriy Miroshnychenko, Yanukovych’s personal

DHAKA: A firefight between security forces and suspected Islamists holed up in a building in a Tunis suburb has left one policeman and up to four militants dead.Tunisia interior ministry said Tuesday, reports TDS.The standoff, which began on Monday, was not yet over, a ministry spokesman