DHAKA: Direct talks aimed at ending weeks of violence in South Sudan are due to begin.They would come a day after delegations from the warring parties met mediators in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, reports BBC.Ethiopia`s Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros Adhanom said the initial

DHAKA: In a few days, people in the Midwest and Northern Plains will have reason to be jealous of what their countrymen in the Northeast are going through now -- digging out from as much as 2 feet of snow, dealing with the effect of blizzard-level winds, and feeling the heat of below-zero

DHAKA: The Chinese ice-breaker that helped rescue passengers stranded on the Akademik Shokalskiy vessel in Antarctica is now stuck itself.An Australian ice-breaker carrying the rescued passengers is no longer on standby and is returning to shore, reports BBC.On Thursday, a helicopter from

DHAKA: Thailand’s anti-government protest movement reasured tourists Friday that it would not target the kingdom’s airports or public transportation during a planned ‘shutdown’ of Bangkok later this month.The demonstrators, who are seeking to oust prime minister Yingluck

DHAKA: South Sudan rebels are retreating as the army pushes to retake the key town of Bor, the military said on Friday, as battles rage despite peace efforts to end the conflict.‘We have enough forces who will defeat the rebels within 24 hours,’ army spokesman Philip Aguer told

DHAKA: Danish and Norwegian vessels left the Cypriot port of Limassol on Friday and headed towards Syria to escort a delayed shipment of chemical weapons for destruction.A spokesman said, reports The Straits Times.‘The Norwegian-Danish task group to transport Syria’s chemical agents

DHAKA: Thailand’s February 2 general election will go ahead, its Election Commission said on Friday, even after anti-government protesters blocked candidates from registering in the south of the country.The decision to go ahead with the election, while not extending the January 1

DHAKA: High tides and strong winds have brought flooding to Wales and western England as officials warn of a continuing threat in parts of the UK.There are currently 11 severe flood warnings, meaning ‘danger to life’, for Gloucestershire, Devon, Dorset and south, west and north

DHAKA: The path is clear for India’s Gandhi family scion Rahul to become the Congress party’s next prime ministerial candidate, following premier Manmohan Singh’s announcement on Friday that he will step down before this year’s polls.Rahul, 43, is already number two in the

DHAKA: At least three Cambodians have been killed when police opened fire on garment workers on strike, as a nationwide wave of protests, backed by the main opposition party, presses on in demand for wages to be doubled.An Associated Press photographer and human rights workers said police

DHAKA: Former prime minister Ariel Sharon remained in critical condition on Friday with his life at risk, the head of the hospital treating him announced.Over the past day a slow deterioration in the functioning of the 85-year-old’s vital organs has occurred, professor Ze’ev Rotstein,

DHAKA: The Italian navy said on Friday it had rescued in 24 hours more than 1,000 migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean by boat in rough winter seas.Some 823 migrants were picked up on Thursday and another 233 were rescued Wednesday as part of a major ongoing

DHAKA: Talks to end the South Sudan conflict have opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry says.Negotiators for the government and rebel sides have been meeting mediators but have not yet held face-to-face talks, it is understood, reports the BBC.Delegates began arriving in

DHAKA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that he will not stay in the post if his party wins the next election, due in the summer.He said he would "hand over the baton to a new PM".Singh has been India`s PM for the past decade, heading a coalition government led by the

DHAKA: Iraq has launched air attacks against Sunni Arab fighters who now control large parts of Anbar`s Fallujah and Ramadi cities in central Iraq.The Defence Ministry released footage on Thursday that showed jets targeting fighters suspected of belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and

DHAKA: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is back in the Middle East where he plans to propose a framework for a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, saying the time is close for tough decision-making.Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday and immediately headed for

DHAKA: Residents of the north-eastern US have been warned to stay indoors, as the region braces for a storm expected to dump up to 14in (35cm) of snow.Nearly 2,000 flights have been grounded nationwide as heavy snow fell from Illinois to Michigan in the US Midwest, reports BBC.New York

DHAKA: A powerful explosion has rocked a southern suburb of Beirut, sending smoke rising from the stronghold of the armed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.Sources told Al Jazeera that there were at least two casualties caused by Thursday’s blast in the Lebanese capital, which has been hit

DHAKA: China has agreed to lend Pakistan US$6.5 billion to help build nuclear power stations including a 2,200-megawatt plant in Karachi, as Beijing increases its involvement in the cash-strapped country.Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif announced the package at a briefing on

DHAKA: Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Mursi and 130 others, including Hamas members, will go on trial on January 28 over a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising.Egypt judicial sources said Thursday, reports The Straits Times.The prosecution said last month there were a total of 132