DHAKA: Philippine troops battled Muslim rebels on two fronts on Thursday, after the insurgents attacked a second town near the southern port where they are holding scores of residents hostage in a standoff with government forces.The rebels attacked predominantly Christian outskirts of

DHAKA: Qatari-owned news channel Al-Jazeera has launched legal action against the Egyptian authorities, saying that its journalists have been detained without charge and attacked.Al-Jazeera’s London-based lawyers announced on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.The network said it had

DHAKA: A report by United Nations inspectors probing a chemical weapons attack in Syria will ‘probably’ be published on Monday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday.‘It will say that there was a chemical massacre,’ he told French radio, reports The Straits

DHAKA: Two explosions near a Shia mosque in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have killed at least 35 people, officials say.At least 55 others were wounded in the attack in the largely Shia district of Kasra as worshippers were leaving the mosque after evening prayers.No-one has yet said they

DHAKA: A Canadian national has been arrested in Colombia after trying to board a flight to Toronto with a phony pregnant belly stuffed with cocaine, police say.The tourist caught the attention of a policewoman at Bogota`s International Airport who allegedly asked her how far along she

DHAKA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a direct personal appeal to the American people over the Syrian crisis.In an opinion article in the New York Times, he warns that a US military strike against Syria could unleash a new wave of terrorism.He says millions of people see the US

DHAKA: Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan has sacked nine cabinet ministers, amid serious divisions in the governing party.Two weeks ago, seven of the country`s powerful state governors and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar formed a splinter-group in the PDP.They were angry after

DHAKA: The US is remembering the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary.The 11 September 2001 attacks killed almost 3,000 people in New York, the Washington DC area and Pennsylvania.In New York, families of the victims are reading the names of

DHAKA: With the situation limping back to normalcy, the district administration on Wednesday decided to relax curfew for four hours from noon in three areas of riot-hit Muzaffarnagar.District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said curfew would be relaxed for four hours from 12 noon. Death

DHAKA: Six Egyptian soldiers were killed after explosions near a military intelligence building in the Sinai peninsula town of Rafah on Wednesday.Egypt’s state news agency Egynews reported, says CNN.The Sinai is a lawless area that has been the site of frequent attacks.Egypt has been

DHAKA: Russian Pantsir missile system deliveries to Syria are continuing under earlier signed contracts, said Alexander Denisov.The shipments of Pantsir missile systems to the United Arab Emirates will be completed this year, Denisov, Vysokotochny-High-Precision Complex Holding’s

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia suspended 18 Friday preachers last month, charging that their sermons referred to complex political issues related to events unfolding in Arab countries.All the preachers were investigated for failing to follow the religious purpose of the Friday sermons, Tawfeeq Al

DHAKA: Fighters from an al Qaeda-linked rebel group killed 12 members of the minority Alawite sect in central Syria after seizing their village.An opposition monitoring group said on Wednesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Alawites are an offshoot sect of Shia Islam and have been

DHAKA: Pope Francis on Wednesday said atheists could take moral decisions just like religious people, in an unprecedented letter to a leftwing Italian daily, his latest attempt to reach out to non-believers.‘God’s mercy has no limits if we turn to him with a sincere and contrite

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin has approved the transfer of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, according to the prestigious Russian daily newspaper Kommersant.The newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Russian government will revive the transfer three years after it

DHAKA: India’s cabinet will on Thursday consider a finance ministry proposal to borrow an additional US$4.3 billion from an arm of the World Bank, according to a cabinet agenda document.Under the proposal India would borrow the money from the International Bank of Reconstruction and

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama has postponed a congressional vote on military action in Syria, vowing to pursue diplomacy to remove the regime’s chemical weapons.Damascus has admitted for the first time that it has chemical weapons, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to hand

DHAKA: Toxic liquor has killed at least 12 people in central Pakistan, police and health officials said on Wednesday.The deaths occurred near the farming town of Rahim Yar Khan, where the men were drinking locally made liquor at a party.Eight of them died on Monday while four more

DHAKA: Attacks in Iraq killed six people Wednesday, including a school principal who was among several victims in a spate of shootings in the north.The latest bloodshed comes as authorities carry out wide-ranging operations targeting militants and implement tight restrictions on vehicle

DHAKA: Suspected Muslim insurgents killed five policemen in Thailand’s deep south on Wednesday in one of the most serious attacks since talks between a major Muslim rebel group and the government to end nearly a decade of conflict stalled.‘A special investigative unit was on duty when