DHAKA: India Tuesday test-fired its indigenously developed ‘Prithvi-II’ missile, which is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and has a strike range of 350 km, from a test range at Chandipur near Balasore.The test was carried out as part of a user trial by the Army.The

DHAKA: A Spanish judge has summoned the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos to appear in court over accusations of fraud and money-laundering.Infanta Cristina, 48, has been linked to the business affairs of her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, who is being investigated for alleged

DHAKA: Iran is not among the first round of nations invited to attend Syria peace talks in Switzerland later this month.A UN spokesman has confirmed, reports Al Jazeera.However, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ‘is in favour of inviting Iran’, spokesman Farhan Haq said on

DHAKA: A special court set up to try Pakistan’s former ruler Pervez Musharraf for treason adjourned on Tuesday to consider a medical report on his heart complaint.The 70-year-old was rushed to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi, which borders Islamabad, on his way to

DHAKA: The Turkish government has dismissed 350 police officers in the capital Ankara in connection with an anti-corruption operation, reports say.The sackings took place overnight, with 250 people - mostly from outside the city - appointed to replace them, reports BBC.Hundreds of police

DHAKA: Iraq`s prime minister has urged residents and tribes in Fallujah to drive out al-Qaeda-linked fighters to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged city, a sign that the government could be paving the way for an imminent military offensive.In a message broadcast over state television

DHAKA: Americans in some states are being warned to stay indoors as a record-breaking freeze threatens a wind chill factor of minus 50. Chicago saw a record low of minus 16 (minus 27 C) on Monday. The day`s high was minus 11, with a windchill of minus 34. It`s part of an Arctic blast that

DHAKA: More than three-quarters of people surveyed in a poll have said they want immigration to be cut, with 56% calling for major curbs.Almost half of people asked, 47%, think immigration is bad for the economy, reports BBC.Among the 31% of respondents who said immigration is good for

DHAKA: The US says it is speeding up the supply of military equipment to Iraq to help its government fight militant groups in western Anbar province.The White House said additional surveillance drones would be delivered within weeks and more Hellfire missiles sent in the next few months,

DHAKA: Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Monday during a visit to Juba by president Omar al-Bashir to consider setting up a joint force to protect vital oilfields.Sudan’s foreign minister said, reports The Straits Times.‘Sudan and South Sudan are in consultations about the deployment of

DHAKA: Al-Qaeda-linked fighters have departed Iraq’s Fallujah and it is now in the hands of Sunni tribesmen, a senior tribal sheikh said on Monday.‘There is no ISIL in the city,’ Sheikh Ali al-Hammad said, referring to Al-Qaeda-linked group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,

DHAKA: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Monday his country was trying to help in efforts to broker an end to fighting in South Sudan.‘China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, so we are paying close attention to the evolving situation in South Sudan, he

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry met Saudi King Abdullah as part of the US diplomat’s regional talks on the frameworks for a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians.In a statement following their meeting, Kerry said the Arab monarch offered ‘enthusiastic support’ to US

DHAKA: Egyptian police deployed at churches across the country with orders to use live ammunition to protect Coptic Christians over their Christmas holiday.Egypt interior ministry said on Monday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Dozens of churches and Christian properties were attacked in

DHAKA: South Sudan’s government and rebels have finally begun formal peace talks in Addis Ababa aimed at ending more than three weeks of unrest.Ethiopia’s government spokesman said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.‘They have begun,’ Getachew Reda said, after days of trying to

DHAKA: A truce between Syrian rebels and regime troops fighting in the northern Damascus district of Barzeh has been agreed on Sunday, activists said.‘After intense negotiation in recent days between the regime and the (rebel) Free Syrian Army through mediators from the neighbourhood,

DHAKA: Tunisia’s national assembly on Monday approved an article in the draft constitution that would guarantee gender equality ‘without discrimination’ in the Muslim nation.‘All male and female citizens have the same rights and duties. They are equal before the law without

DHAKA: Sixteen Indonesians have died and nine are fighting for their lives after drinking bootleg alcohol to celebrate New Year’s Eve on the main island of Java.Indonesia police said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.Police have arrested a couple who are suspected of producing and

DHAKA: After four days of intense diplomacy, US state secretary John Kerry headed home on Monday, insisting progress had been made despite failing to agree a framework to guide Israeli-Palestinian talks.On his 10th visit to the region as US top diplomat, Kerry spent hours locked in

DHAKA: Syria’s main opposition National Coalition re-elected Ahmad Jarba as its leader during a general assembly meeting in Istanbul, the coalition said in a statement.Jarba won 65 votes, beating his only rival Riad Hijab, the best-known defector from the regime of president Bashar