DHAKA: In his first visit to Vietnam as America’s top diplomat, John Kerry urged the country’s leaders to strengthen their commitment to human rights and allow more freedom of expression, including on the Internet.More than four decades after he served in the Vietnam War, Kerry has

DHAKA: Egypt said Saturday a referendum on a new draft constitution will be held next month, the first step towards elected rule in a country deeply polarised after president Mohamed Mursi’s ouster.‘I call upon you to vote in a referendum on the draft revised constitution on January

DHAKA: Nelson Mandela`s coffin has been flown to the Eastern Cape region of South Africa for the final leg of the journey to his ancestral home in Qunu. Large numbers of people have turned out on the route to Qunu to pay their respects as the cortege passes by.A state funeral will be held

DHAKA: A senior government official on Saturday confirmed 11 deaths of children in relief camps for victims of India’s Muzaffarnagar riots, even as chief medical officers were directed to provide adequate medical treatment to the victims.District magistrate (Muzaffarnagar) Kaushal Raj

DHAKA: China will attempt to land a probe carrying the country’s first lunar rover on the moon on Saturday in a major breakthrough for its ambitious space programme.The spacecraft is expected to make touchdown at about 9pm local time, the mission’s official microblogging page said, 12

DHAKA: Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly shot down a proposal by US state secretary John Kerry to maintain Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley for ten years following the signing of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.A Palestinian official told Al-Ayyam, reports The

DHAKA: Cairo’s court has issued a ruling Tuesday to arrest the current Interior Minister of Egypt Mohamed Ibrahim and hold him in prison for two years, and also to sack him for his refusal to carry out the court’s rulings.Egyptian media reports say, according to The Voice of

DHAKA: Two French soldiers have been killed in combat in Central African Republic’s capital, president Francois Hollande’s office announced on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges of a new French military intervention in the nearly lawless former colony.Hollande plans to visit the

DHAKA: A suicide bomber killed 11 people and wounded 20 at a funeral in northern Iraq on Tuesday.Iraq police said, reports The Straits Times.The attack took place in Baquba, 65km north-east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.BDST: 2046 HRS, DEC 10, 2013

DHAKA: The death toll from torrential weekend rain in north-eastern Brazil has risen from 11 to 16, local authorities said on Tuesday.‘Our latest toll is 16 dead and one still missing,’ a Civil Defence spokesman said, reports The Straits Times.An official statement said 202 homes were

DHAKA: Iran’s foreign minister defended himself on Tuesday against what he called ‘slander, profanity and insults’ by conservative hardliners at home who have accused him of undermining the state and are pushing for his position to be reviewed.Mohamed Javad Zarif was Iran’s chief

DHAKA: Police in a remote northern Afghan village rescued a woman from being stoned to death after she was condemned by the Taliban for allegedly cheating on her husband.Afghan officials said on Tuesday, reports gulfnews.com.Taliban militants, who often run informal justice systems in

DHAKA: Ukraine’s president says he will ask the country’s general prosecutor to find a way to release some of the demonstrators who were arrested in recent protests, in a bid to defuse the country’s tensions.Ukraine’s capital has been gripped by more than three weeks of

DHAKA: India’s anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Tuesday started another indefinite fast demanding the central government to pass an anti-corruption bill.At least 12 supporters joined the 76-year-old veteran social activist as he began his fast at a temple venue in his village

DHAKA: The UN said on Tuesday it would for the first time begin airlifting food and other aid items across the border from Iraq to Syria after receiving the go-ahead from both governments.‘Our colleagues on the Iraqi side, with the permission of the Syrian government and also the

DHAKA: Turkish prosecutors have charged 255 protesters, including seven foreigners, over the mass demonstrations that swept the country in June, local media reported on Tuesday.Those indicted face a range of charges including violating laws on demonstrations, damaging a place of worship

DHAKA: The Central African Republic has announced a countrywide curfew from 10pm to 5am in a presidential decree read on state radio.The announcement came late on Friday as the troubled nation spiraled into conflict, pitting the Muslim rebels who seized power in a coup earlier this year

DHAKA: At least 44 people in China have been killed in an explosion after a leaking oil pipeline caught fire in the city of Qingdao, state media has reported.Xinhua quoted officials who said workers were trying to repair the pipeline at the time of Friday`s blast.Pictures of the scene

DHAKA: Momentum appears to be building for a breakthrough deal on Iran`s nuclear program, with top diplomats flocking to the site of ongoing talks.Hours after a Western official said a deal could be reached "as soon as tonight," discussions ended Friday night, a senior U.S. State

DHAKA: The death toll from the collapse of a roof at a supermarket in Latvia`s capital, Riga, climbed Friday to 51, the mayor said.Between five and seven people are still believed trapped in the debris from Thursday`s collapse at the Maxima supermarket, in western Riga, Mayor Nils Usakovs