DHAKA: A well-known Iranian blogger and veteran activist says a court has sentenced him to six years in prison over security charges.Mahdi Khazali told media the sentence was for spreading ‘propaganda’ against the ruling establishment.He insists he did not break the law and will

DHAKA: The world’s oldest movie theatre, where the first films of the pioneering Lumiere brothers were screened in 1899, reopens in a sleepy southern French town on Wednesday after an extensive facelift.Gleaming, velvet seats replace dusty chairs, fresh yellow paint and mosaic tiles

DHAKA: Seven days after the Pakistani Taleban shot her in the head, Malala Yousafzai woke up confused in a place that wasn’t home.Her first thought? ‘Thank God I’m not dead.’Malala, whose campaign for girls’ right to education made her a Taliban target, describes the shooting

DHAKA: Egypt’s cabinet on Tuesday ordered authorities to remove the Muslim Brotherhood from the list of approved non-governmental organisations following a judicial order, state media reported.The move comes after an Egyptian court last month banned the Muslim Brotherhood from operating

DHAKA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has replaced officials holding almost half of the nation’s key posts in an attempt to strengthen his control over the country.A South Korean report showed on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.Kim has changed the officials filling 97 out of 218

DHAKA: Malaysia, in a rare out-of-court settlement, agreed Tuesday to pay an opposition lawmaker and five others US$63,000 after they were detained under a tough security law two years ago.The six members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia were arrested in 2011 and imprisoned for almost a

DHAKA: Libya’s prime minister Ali Zeidan said on Tuesday relations with the United States would not be affected by the US military raid to capture an al Qaeda suspect in Tripoli, but he said Libyan suspects should be tried in Libya.‘Our relationship with the USA is one of friendship

DHAKA: The Maldives Supreme Court on Monday annulled the results of the September 7 presidential election and scheduled a fresh vote by October 20, after a candidate challenged the outcome, citing irregularities.Four of seven judges approved the decision after the top court suspended the

DHAKA: Libyan militants have called for the kidnapping of American citizens in Tripoli and for attacks on gas pipelines, ships and planes to avenge the capture of a senior al-Qaida figure by US special forces in Libya last week.Nazih al-Ragye, better known by the cover name Abu Anas

DHAKA: Lebanon will reconsider the presence of Syrians in the country and check to see if they fit international standards of refugeesLebanon caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said Tuesday, reports TDS.‘We will re-examine the situation of every Syrian refugee on Lebanese territory

DHAKA: South Korean lawmakers say the country’s spy agency has told them that North Korea has restarted a plutonium reactor at its main nuclear facility.North Korea said in April it would restart the reactor but has not confirmed that it has done so. Recent satellite photos have shown

DHAKA: Francois Englert (University Libre de Bruxelles) & Peter W. Higgs (University of Edinburgh) have been awarded 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.They were awarded the prize for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass subatomic

DHAKA: Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour won fresh support from King Abdullah for his country’s fight against ‘terrorism’ as he Tuesday wound up a trip to Saudi Arabia.Saudi official news agency SPA said, reports TDS.Mansour arrived Monday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on his

DHAKA: Superstition holds its good luck to cross a newborn’s palm with silver to wish the child riches and health, but Britain’s baby Prince George is getting something more, a whole new set of coins in his honour.Britain’s Royal Mint said the 5 pound coin will carry the image of

DHAKA: Libya’s government summoned US ambassador Deborah Jones to seek clarification over the capture by American special forces of an alleged Al-Qaeda operative in Tripoli.Libya foreign ministry announced on Tuesday, reports TDS.‘Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani summoned the

DHAKA: Turkey lifted a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions on Tuesday, ending a decades-old restriction as part of a package of reforms meant to bolster democracy.The ban, whose roots date back almost 90 years to the early days of the Turkish Republic, has

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Syria was ‘very actively’ cooperating with international chemical weapons inspectors and suggested that Indonesia join international peace talks on the crisis.‘Doubts about whether the Syrian leadership would adequately

DHAKA: North Korea said on Tuesday its military would be put on high alert and be ready to launch operations, stepping up tension after weeks of rhetoric directed against the United States and South Korea, who it accuses of instigating hostility.Reclusive North Korea has often issued

DHAKA: ‘Vicious’ commentary about Australia’s first female leader Julia Gillard dominates entries for the annual ‘Ernie’ awards for sexism with prime minister Tony Abbott the ‘most constant’ offender.Organisers said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.There were more than

DHAKA: Myanmar’s president has pardoned 56 political prisoners, moving forward with his pledge to by the end of the year release all those jailed for opposing the government.Myanmar president Thein Sein ordered their release on Tuesday, just ahead of a forum in Brunei to be attended by