DHAKA: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to pay a visit to Tehran in the coming days to discuss bilateral relations and Iran’s nuclear programme after clinching a landmark deal between the Islamic republic and the major powers last month.‘A visit by Sergei Lavrov to

DHAKA: The UN General Assembly elected Jordan to the Security Council on Friday to replace Saudi Arabia, which had rejected the seat in an unprecedented act to protest the council’s failure to end the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.Arab countries chose Jordan as a replacement,

DHAKA: Moscow and Kiev have failed to reach agreements on reducing Russian gas prices or Ukraine joining a Moscow-led customs union.A spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin told reporters on Saturday, according to The Straits Times.Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Ukrainian president

DHAKA: At least 300 people have been killed in two days of violence in the capital of the Central African Republic, says the Red Cross.The organisation said its staff stopped collecting bodies in Bangui as night fell but would resume over the weekend, and expected the toll to rise,

DHAKA: North Korea has deported a US veteran of the Korean War who had been detained in the country since October, the state-run KCNA news agency reports.It says Merrill Newman was expelled on "humanitarian grounds" after confessing to "crimes" against the state during the 1950-53 war and

DHAKA: The US unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7% in November, according to the US Labor Department.Payroll figures also showed that 203,000 jobs were created last month, more than predicted, as the US economy displayed more signs of strength.The monthly non-farm payroll

DHAKA: An al-Qaida linked group has claimed responsibility for Thursday`s attack on Yemen`s defence ministry that killed at least 52 people, the country`s worst militant assault in 18 months."As part of the policy of targeting the operation rooms of pilotless planes, the mujahideen (holy

DHAKA: The head of the World Trade Organisation Roberto Azevedo is preparing to submit the text of a global trade deal to the WTO membership for agreement later on Friday, said sources involved in the talks at the WTO`s ministerial conference in Bali.Azevedo`s move signals he has resolved

DHAKA: US Vice-President Joe Biden has urged Japan and South Korea to "improve their relations and co-operation".Mr Biden was in Seoul on the third leg of an Asian tour dominated by tensions over China`s newly-declared air defence zone.China`s zone covers disputed islands controlled by

DHAKA: The head of the World Trade Organisation Roberto Azevedo is preparing to submit the text of a global trade deal to the WTO membership for agreement later on Friday, said sources involved in the talks at the WTO`s ministerial conference in Bali.Azevedo`s move signals he has resolved

DHAKA: Hong Kong on Friday announced a new air quality health index, the first in Asia to use the system, in its ongoing battle to combat air pollution.The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), introduced in Canada in 2005, will replace the city`s nearly two-decades-old Air Pollution Index

DHAKA: Top Chinese film director Zhang Yimou is facing a S$205 million lawsuit after violating the country`s controversial one-child policy, a lawyer said Friday, prompting renewed debate around the rules.Critics say China`s late-1970s family-planning law, which restricts most couples to

DHAKA: Thailand`s King Bhumibol Adulyadej has asked the nation to work together for stability, as protests give way to celebrations as people marked the monarch`s birthday.Cheering crowds lined the streets to celebrate the 86th birthday of Thailand`s revered king near his seaside palace

DHAKA: South Africans have gathered in Johannesburg and Soweto to mourn their former leader, Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday aged 95.Crowds paid tribute, dancing and singing in front of Mr Mandela`s former home in Soweto throughout the night.Flags flew at half mast after President

DHAKA: Fighters linked to al-Qaeda have kidnapped and executed an Iraqi freelance cameraman working in northern Syria, the first foreign journalist killed by fighters in the rebel-held north, according to a press freedom watchdog. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the

DHAKA: Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt last year, has been awarded the 2013 UN Human Rights Prize, an honour previously given to icons like late Nelson Mandela in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights.The prize is

DHAKA: Thousands of people have had to evacuate their homes as a severe storm batters large part of the UK.The Environment Agency has more than 60 severe flood warnings in place.England`s east coast is experiencing the worst tidal surge in 60 years, while in north Wales residents had to

DHAKA: An American teacher has been shot dead in Libya`s eastern city of Benghazi, local officials say.Ronnie Smith, who is reported to be from Texas, taught chemistry at the international school in the city.The 33-year-old was gunned down earlier on Thursday as he was jogging in the

DHAKA: Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa`s first black president, was regarded as one of the great figures of the past century for his generosity of spirit, sacrifices in the name of equality and his efforts to reconcile the races in South Africa amid the

DHAKA: South Africa`s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa`s president says.Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa`s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.He had been receiving intense home-based medical care