DHAKA: Several families of 40 Indian construction workers abducted in strife-torn northern Iraq say they have spoken with the men, whose captors claim they will be freed unharmed. Reports said Thursday, according to The Straits Times. India’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday

DHAKA: King Felipe VI took the Spanish crown on Thursday, setting the stage for celebrations in the flag-festooned capital a day after his father quit the throne with tears in his eyes. The 46-year-old former Olympic yachtsman, who stands nearly two meters tall, assumed the crown after

DHAKA: Iraq has formally called on the US to launch air strikes against jihadist militants who have seized several key cities over the past week. "We have a request from the Iraqi government for air power," confirmed top US military commander Gen Martin Dempsey in front of US senators.

DHAKA: A top Iranian official said on Wednesday that Teheran could consider working with the United States over the crisis in Iraq if talks on its nuclear programme are successful. Asked about possible cooperation in Iraq, president Hassan Rohani’s chief of staff Mohammad Nahavandian

DHAKA: The United States is not looking for a military solution in Iraq, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Wednesday. Speaking at a forum in Jerusalem, Lew said the United States was concerned about the ‘grave situation’ in Iraq. ‘As the President (Barack Obama) makes a decision

DHAKA: Militants seized three villages in northern Iraq on Wednesday during clashes with security forces and residents that left 20 civilians dead. A local official said, reports The Straits Times. The official, Shallal Abdul Baban, named the villages as Albu Hassan, Birwajli and

DHAKA: Forty Indian construction workers have been abducted in violence-hit northern Iraq. The Indian foreign ministry said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times. The workers were taken from the region around Mosul, which has been overrun by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq

DHAKA: Bangladeshis among 60 foreign construction workers were abducted by militants near the Kirkuk city of Iraq. Sources from Turkey’s embassy in Baghdad disclosed the matter to international media Wednesday. Militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seized the group

DHAKA: A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped by her Facebook friend and his two accomplices in Jind on Monday. Accused Ram Niwas, alias Raj Fauji, and his two friends were booked for gangrape and criminal intimidation on Monday evening. The woman had reportedly married a local

DHAKA: Afghan presidential election candidate Abdullah Abdullah has demanded an immediate halt to vote-counting over allegations of widespread fraud. Dr Abdullah said ballot boxes had been stuffed to the benefit of his rival Ashraf Ghani and he had lost trust in the electoral

DHAKA: Pope Francis called on Wednesday for concrete help for millions of refugee families around the world and sent his prayers to those forced to flee an insurgency spearheaded by Islamist militants in Iraq. ‘The number of brother refugees grows and, over the past few days, thousands

DHAKA: Islamist-led militants have invaded Iraq’s biggest oil refinery, after pounding it with mortars and machine guns from two directions. An official quoted by media said the militants now controlled 75% of the Baiji refinery, 210km north of Baghdad, reports the BBC. Government

DHAKA: Two women were among eight Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) killed in Hangu when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them Wednesday. Police said, unidentified men trespassed into a house and killed the eight people. One woman was said to be injured. The victims were IDPs of the

DHAKA: Israel’s parliament member Haneen Zoabi defended her assertion that those who abducted three Israeli teens last week are not terrorists, saying Wednesday that kidnapping is a legitimate form of resistance and only killing people is terror. ‘I don’t agree with the kidnapping,

DHAKA: Israeli troops arrested 65 Palestinians overnight, most of whom were freed in a 2011 prisoner swap, as they scoured the West Bank for three teenagers believed kidnapped by Hamas. The arrest operations were praised by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said it sent an

DHAKA: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran would do whatever it takes to protect revered Shia shrines in Iraq against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government. ‘Dear Karbala, Dear Najaf, Dear Kadhimiyah and Dear Samarra, we warn the great powers and

DHAKA: Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that he will soon order a unilateral ceasefire in the separatist east as part of a broader plan to end the 10-week insurgency. ‘The peace plan begins with my order for a unilateral ceasefire,’ the Interfax-Ukraine

DHAKA: Egyptian diplomats reported that they are mediating between Israel and Palestinian as both sides look to discover the fate of three yeshiva students kidnapped by Hamas operatives in the West Bank late last week. Israel Radio reports on Wednesday, says The Jerusalem Post.

DHAKA: A group of Turkish construction workers were among some 60 people abducted by Islamist militants near the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, less than a week after dozens of other Turkish nationals were taken hostage in Mosul. According to a news report, says The Jerusalem Post. Militants

DHAKA: Afghan president Hamid Karzai has dismissed the possibility of al-Qaeda linked groups making a comeback in his country in a similar way to Iraq. Asked by the BBC’s Lyse Doucet in Kabul whether what was happening in Iraq could happen in Afghanistan, the president replied: