DHAKA: Japan’s population has shrunk for the fourth year running, falling back to a level it was last at in 2000, with more than one in four people now aged 65 or older.The government said, reports The Straits Times.The population dropped by 0.17 percent, or 215,000 people, to

DHAKA: A suicide bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded 50 others in an attack on Saturday outside a bank in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.Provincial officials said, reports The Straits Times.‘The explosion happened outside a bank where government employees collect their

DHAKA: A prominent former aide to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Izzat al-Douri, has been killed in a wide-scale military operation.Al-Douri - believed to be mastermind of the insurgency against the current government - was an influential leader and is said to have played a role in

DHAKA: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for an immediate halt to the fighting in Yemen, the first time he has made such an appeal since Saudi-led air strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels began three weeks ago.“I am calling for an immediate cease-fire in Yemen

DHAKA: Fighters from Islamist group Boko Haram killed at least ten people in overnight attacks on two villages in northern Cameroon.Two senior army sources said this on Friday, reports the Jerusalem Post.“There were consecutive attacks by Boko Haram in Bia and Blaberi in the district of

DHAKA: A Chinese court has sentenced a 71-year-old female journalist to seven years in jail for leaking state secrets, in a case seen by rights groups as part of a crackdown on government critics.Gao Yu, named one of the International Press Institute’s 50 ‘world press heroes’ in

DHAKA: Members of the UN Security Council were moved to tears after they were shown a video of an apparent chlorine gas attack in north-west Syria last month.The footage shows the unsuccessful attempts of doctors to revive three children all aged under four, reports the BBC.US ambassador

DHAKA: Islamic State’s (IS) Pakistan chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was killed when a roadside bomb he was planting went off in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region.Saeed along with two of his accomplices were killed on Thursday when the bomb they were planting exploded in Toor Dara

DHAKA: At least five people have been found dead inside a home in north Phoenix of US State of Arizona Thursday.Phoenix police said a dispatcher received an "unknown trouble" call around 2:00pm local time and then heard gunshots in the background.Authorities said two males and three

DHAKA: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has suspended death sentences passed by controversial new military tribunals, until it rules on the legality of the sentences.The move directly affects six militants who were facing imminently execution, reports the BBC.In December Pakistan ended a

DHAKA: Russia will not impose penalties against France over its failure to fulfill a 1.2 billion euro contract to supply two Mistral helicopter carriers.Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.‘We do intend to seek any penalties or fines ... but it

DHAKA: At least 10 people have been killed according to a monitoring network after Syrian government forces shelled the southeastern suburbs of Damascus.The area has come under intensive assault by regime jets and artillery in recent days, reports the Aljazeera.A main roundabout in the

DHAKA: Rahul Gandhi has returned to Delhi after a 57-day sabbatical, which included a course in vipassana or silent meditation.The Congress vice president arrived by an 11.15am flight from Bangkok and was welcomed at his home by his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi, and sister

DHAKA: Indonesia on Thursday banned small retailers from selling beer, despite an outcry from the booze industry and in tourism hotspots over the Muslim-majority country’s latest offensive against drinking.The ban restricts the sale of beer and pre-mixed drinks - such as spirits with

DHAKA: A Chinese academic study hailed the role of the country’s first lady in public diplomacy, reports said Thursday, the latest sign of Beijing’s hunger for soft power on the global stage.Peng Liyuan, the wife of president Xi Jinping, has ‘enchanted domestic and international

DHAKA: The UN peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has resigned, a UN official said Wednesday (Apr 15), after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation.The Moroccan diplomat had been UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy for Yemen since

DHAKA: South Korean president Park Geun Hye vowed on Wednesday to punish ‘anyone’ involved in corruption as she faced a growing bribery scandal that has embroiled her prime minister and other close aides.‘I will not forgive anyone responsible for corruption,’ Park told a meeting

DHAKA: Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considering holding joint military maneuvers in the kingdom as the allies carry out air strikes in its neighbor Yemen.Egypt president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s office said, reports The Straits Times.Other Gulf Arab countries would also participate, the

DHAKA: Houthi rebels have condemned Tuesday's UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on them and their allies.They called for protests against what they termed UN support of ‘aggression’, the BBC publishes this report on Wednesday.The Houthis have made rapid advances across the

DHAKA: The US Congress will have a say on a nuclear deal with Iran, under a new agreement reached with the White House.President Barack Obama withdrew his opposition to a bipartisan bill that was unanimously passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reports the BBC.He has