DHAKA: A long-delayed conference aimed at ending Syria’s 32-month conflict will be held in Geneva on December 12, a Syrian government daily reported on Thursday, citing diplomatic sources in Paris.The Al-Watan newspaper said that US state secretary John Kerry had told his French

DHAKA: US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey has said she feels the time is finally right for audiences to embrace films that tackle slavery and civil rights.The 59-year-old told BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz she was ‘so happy’ a number of new titles cover the topics.One of these, ‘12

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry has told lawmakers any new sanctions against Iran would risk ruining talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme.He told a Senate banking committee that the US might lose negotiating partners if it imposed economic penalties, reports the BBC.The panel has

DHAKA: Former German president Christian Wulff is to go on trial accused of receiving and granting favours in office.He is alleged to have accepted the payment of hotel bills by a film producer in return for lobbying while he was premier of Lower Saxony in 2008.Wulff, who stepped down in

DHAKA: Four US Marines have been killed in what officials described as a tragic accident at a base in southern California.They had been clearing unexploded ordnance at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, a Marine official said.The incident happened on Wednesday morning during a range

DHAKA: The Obama administration has said barely 27,000 Americans enrolled for health insurance through its troubled federal website in the first month.About 106,000 people were insured in total, most of them through the state-run websites.The administration originally estimated nearly

DHAKA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu are due to hold talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo that will reportedly include possible arms deals.It is the first such high-level Russian visit to Egypt in decades.Reports suggest that weapons deals worth

DHAKA: David Cameron has been warned by the Sri Lankan government not to quiz them over alleged war crimes in 2009.The prime minister has rejected calls to boycott a Commonwealth summit in the country, saying he would use his visit to raise its human rights record.But the Sri Lankans said

DHAKA: As many as 300 people are feared dead after a cyclone and heavy floods in Somalia`s semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to the local government.Puntland`s government has described the situation as a "disaster", with entire villages destroyed, and said it was appealing for

DHAKA:  Seven people, including a child, were burnt to death and many passengers injured when a privately-run luxury bus caught fire late last night, hours after leaving Bangalore for Mumbai.There were 49 passengers on board; 41 managed to break the windows and jump out of the burning

DHAKA: Syria’s largest Kurdish party has said it plans to form an transitional administration.The administration would rule Kurdish-majority areas in the northeast until the broader conflict is over, reports the BBC.Kurdish groups in northern Syria have tried to stay out of the civil

DHAKA: Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that his peace negotiators had resigned over the lack of progress in United States-brokered statehood talks clouded by Israeli settlement building.The development would mark a new low point for the talks with Israel that resumed

DHAKA: Russia may donate $2 million toward eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons and is ready to offer expert help to the body tasked with the mission.A senior official said on Wednesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which

DHAKA: Forces loyal to president Bashar Assad captured a suburb of Damascus on Wednesday, part of a broader advance that has brought him major gains south of the capital before proposed international peace talks, activists said.The fall of the rebel-held town of Hujaira, next to a Shia

DHAKA: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the Geneva-2 conference on Syria should be held without delay because any delay will increase the number of victims in this conflict.‘Everyone agrees that this forum should take place as soon as possible,’ Lavrov said in an interview

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia officially told the United Nations that it would not be taking up a UN Security council seat, opening the way for Jordan to take the place.Saudi envoy to the United Nations Abdullah al-Mouallimi wrote to UN leader Ban Ki-moon to inform him of the move and reaffirm a

DHAKA: An abandoned puppy rescued from a rubbish dump in India has trekked to Everest Base Camp, becoming what is believed to be the first dog to tackle the peak.His owner said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.Former professional golfer Joanne Lefson told media she adopted the

DHAKA: Libya’s Berber minority will boycott a committee to draft a new national constitution, Berber leaders and the election commission said, in a move that complicates attempts to end oil and gas protests.Members of the Berber, or Amazigh, minority have halted gas exports to Italy and

DHAKA: At least 19 people were killed in bomb attacks targeting Iraqi police and pilgrims on Wednesday, police and medical sources said, just before the end of a Shia Muslim religious festival.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which coincided with the holy

DHAKA: Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski on Wednesday apologised for the ‘absolutely scandalous’ ultra-nationalist rioting that occurred outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw and ignited a diplomatic row with Moscow.The havoc erupted on Monday on Polish independence day, when