DHAKA: A Syrian lawmaker who was kidnapped by opposition jihadist fighters earlier this year has been executed.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said on Sunday, reports The Straits Times.A parliamentary source in Damascus, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that

DHAKA: Thousands of Thai pro-government ‘red shirts’ massed in Bangkok on Sunday in their first show of force since a wave of opposition protests against a controversial political amnesty Bill.Television footage showed a sea of people decked out in red, many bussed in from the

DHAKA: More than 600,000 people were evacuated as super typhoon ‘Haiyan’ veered towards Vietnam, authorities said on Sunday, after the storm smashed through the Philippines killing thousands and causing widespread devastation.‘We have evacuated more than 174,000 households, which is

DHAKA: Britain’s foreign secretary William Hague said on Sunday that talks on Iran’s nuclear programme could reach a deal within the next few weeks, despite the failure of negotiations in Geneva.‘On the question of will it happen in the next few weeks, there is a good chance of

DHAKA: Saudi health authorities announced on Sunday a new death caused by the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) coronavirus, bringing to 53 the number of fatalities in the kingdom from it.The Health Ministry gave no details on the latest death in the country most affected by the

DHAKA: Iran inaugurated the production line of a new domestically manufactured missile, named the ‘Sayyad-2’, during a ceremony in Tehran on Saturday.The ‘Sayyad-2’ is a medium-range missile which is capable of destroying various types of helicopters, drones, and other targets at

DHAKA: Indian PM Manmohan Singh will boycott this week’s Commonwealth summit in Colombo, officials say, amid a row over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.Indian media said Manmohan had written to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa to say he will be represented by his foreign

DHAKA: International Atomic Energy Agency director general Yukiya Amano will hold talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday with the aim of ‘strengthening dialogue and cooperation’, the agency said.It was announced in Vienna as Iran and six world powers, in broader

DHAKA: Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that its ‘rights to enrichment’ of uranium were ‘red lines’ that would not be crossed and that the Islamic Republic had acted rationally and tactfully during nuclear negotiations, Iranian media reported.‘For us there are

DHAKA: Belgium raised the standing of the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in Brussels from ‘general delegation’ to ‘mission’ status.‘The raising (of status) reflects Belgian and European support for the two-state solution,’ Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said in a

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry said on Sunday that world powers had moved closer towards a deal during negotiations with Iran on reining in Teheran’s nuclear programme and that ‘with good work’ the goal could be reached.Kerry made the statement at a news conference after a

DHAKA: Clashes among foreign workers, Saudi residents and security forces in a Riyadh neighbourhood killed two people and wounded 68 as Saudi Arabia pushes a tough countrywide crackdown on improperly documented foreign labourers.Riyadh police said early Sunday, reports gulfnews.com.Police

DHAKA: Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has won a bitterly-contested presidential elections, but has failed to secure an outright majority to avoid a run-off, official results showed.Nasheed received 45.08 percent of the popular vote and is set for a run-off with Abdulla Yameen,

DHAKA: Sri Lanka has "serious questions" to answer about war crimes allegedly committed during its civil war, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.Mr Cameron`s comments came as he prepared to attend a Commonwealth summit on the island.The prime minister said he would urge President

DHAKA: Talks between world powers and Iran have failed to reach an agreement on Tehran`s nuclear programme.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told a press conference that there had been a lot of "concrete progress but some differences remain".Baroness Ashton, who coordinated talks,

DHAKA: Police in the Philippines say they fear 10,000 people may have died in the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan.The Philippine government has so far only confirmed the death of several hundred people after the storm struck.But regional police chief Elmer Soria said he was told by

DHAKA: Syria’s fractured opposition began meeting Saturday in Istanbul to decide whether to attend a peace conference that world powers want to hold in Geneva.The talks involving the main umbrella opposition, the National Coalition, took place in a hotel here as the rebels retook a

DHAKA: The Taliban have ruled out talks with the Pakistan government, saying the chances of negotiations after the killing of their leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike were ‘below zero’.Senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Ihsanullah Ihsan, in an interview to Newsweek

DHAKA: British lawmakers will question the editor of the Guardian newspaper next month over publishing intelligence files from the United States spy agency contractor Edward Snowden after warnings from security chiefs that the leaks damaged UK national security.Alan Rusbridger will appear

DHAKA: The number of lung cancer cases in the Chinese capital Beijing has soared over the last decade.According to figures published by the state-run Xinhua news agency, they have increased by more than 50%, reports the BBC.Beijing health officials say smoking is still the number one