DHAKA: Russia plans to issue a banknote dedicated to Crimea, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday, the latest expression of national pride over Moscow’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine. ‘We plan to issue a banknote dedicated to Crimea, but it will be a

DHAKA: An influential global body that controls atomic exports is divided over establishing closer ties with India, meaning the nuclear-armed Asian power may have to wait a while longer before joining. Diplomatic sources said different opinions were voiced in a debate on relations with

DHAKA: Sri Lanka’s police called in a militant Buddhist monk for questioning Wednesday after he was accused of instigating deadly anti-Muslim riots that heightened religious tensions in the ethnically divided nation. Galagodaatte Gnanasara was summoned to the Criminal Investigations

DHAKA: Thailand’s ‘out of control’ ivory market is driving Africa’s elephant poaching crisis, conservationists warned Wednesday, accusing the kingdom of backsliding on its pledges. The number of ivory products on sale in Bangkok nearly trebled from 5,865 in January last year to

DHAKA: India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi has permitted Twitter unprecedented access to his administration in a drive to put social media at the heart of government. The US internet company said, reports The Straits Times. Modi deployed an army of supporters over Twitter and

DHAKA: China has banned civil servants, students and teachers in its mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from taking part in Ramadan fasting, government websites said, prompting condemnation from an exile group on Wednesday. China’s ruling Communist party is officially atheist, and for years

DHAKA: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was not in favor of Narendra Modi forming the government but having won in the recent elections and as a democratic Indian, he believes Modi has every right to govern and govern well. Addressing a packed audience at Asia House in London on Monday, Sen

DHAKA: Women in Delhi aren’t safe from sexual predators even in broad daylight and in a relatively ‘safe’ area like Connaught Place. In a city where an estimated six rapes are reported every day, a 34-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a security guard in an office building in

DHAKA: The US Navy has promoted a woman to the rank of a four-star admiral for the first time in its 238-year history, a milestone for females in the American military. In a ceremony on Tuesday, Michelle Howard was promoted to vice chief of naval operations, the number two job in the

DHAKA: A Palestinian teenager from annexed east Jerusalem was kidnapped and killed early Wednesday in a suspected act of revenge for the murder of three Israeli teens. Israel’s army radio reported, says Hindustan Times. The radio said the youth was seen being forced into a car a

DHAKA: A Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul killed eight military officers Wednesday in an attack on an air force bus, Afghan officials said, in the latest strike against the national security forces as US troops withdraw. The blast came the day after presidential election results were

DHAKA: Reacting strongly to reports of BJP being spied upon by US National Security Agency (NSA), India on Wednesday summoned a top US diplomat here to raise the issue, saying it was ‘totally unacceptable’ that an Indian organization or Indian individual's privacy was transgressed

DHAKA: By 8.30am Wednesday, following a five and half-hour police operation, Chater Road in Hong Kong’s financial district was finally cleared, ending the city’s biggest exercise of civil disobedience in recent history.A total of 511 people were arrested, said the police. They

DHAKA: Japan's cabinet has approved a landmark change in security policy, paving the way for its military to fight overseas. Under its constitution, Japan is barred from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence. But a reinterpretation of the law will now allow

DHAKA: North Korea launched two short-range rockets off the east coast of the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. The projectiles flew for about 180 kilometers (110 miles) before falling into the sea, officials said. North Korea has carried out

DHAKA: Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested at illegal sit-ins in Hong Kong early Wednesday, following a huge rally calling for democracy in the Chinese territory. Large crowds had turned out for a march through the city's central business district Tuesday, in a massive show of

DHAKA: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has placed under formal investigation over alleged influence peddling. He appeared before a judge late on Tuesday, after presenting himself early that morning for police questioning, which lasted 15 hours. This is thought to be the first

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin has condemned Ukraine for ending a truce with separatist rebels in the east. He said his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko must now bear direct responsibility for the conflict. Putin said he and European leaders had tried but failed to keep

DHAKA: Saudi King Abdullah appointed a new spy chief, giving the job to the former deputy defence minister days after sacking him from that post. SPA state news agency reported Tuesday, says gulfnews.com. Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz had been unexpectedly removed from his

DHAKA: A senior minister in Goa’s BJP-led government, Sudin Dhavalikar, has said women should not wear bikinis in beaches ‘for their own safety’, and ‘girls in short skirts visiting pubs’ is against the culture of the popular beach destination. In response, the Congress Tuesday