Syria air force bombards town near Lebanon: monitor
Syria’s air force struck the town of Qara near the Lebanese border yesterday as loyalist forces tried to storm the town where rebels have taken up positions, a monitoring group said. “Since the...
View ArticleFrench engineer kidnapped in Nigeria in 2012 freed: Hollande
A French engineer taken hostage in Nigeria in December 2012, Francis Collomp, has been freed, President Francois Hollande said yesterday. In a statement, Hollande expressed thanks to Nigerian...
View ArticleIran parliament approves Rouhani’s last minister pick
Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament yesterday approved President Hassan Rouhani’s nominee for sports minister, filling out the cabinet after rejecting a number of earlier picks, media reported....
View ArticleTurkey PM meets Iraqi Kurdish leader to shore up peace talks
Turkey’s prime minister welcomed the leader of Iraq’s autonomous north to his country’s own Kurdish-dominated territory for the first time Saturday, in a visit designed to kickstart a stalled peace...
View ArticlePanic button app in smartphones
Smartphone users can now set off a personal panic button to alert family and friends that they are in danger. PanicMe fires off alerts of differing levels of importance to a chosen network of contacts...
View ArticleTicfa deal to be signed on Nov 25
Dhaka and Washington are expected to sign the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) on November 25. A Bangladesh government delegation comprised of officials of foreign affairs and...
View ArticleDeadline now December 3
The illegal expatriate workers, who were registered in the last general amnesty in Saudi Arabia, would be able to legalise their visa status or return home till December 3, said Nazmul Islam, consul...
View Article18-party’s black-flag processions today
The BNP-led 18-party alliance will bring out “black-flag” processions across the country today to protest yesterday’s cabinet meeting of “ministers who have already resigned”. BNP Joint Secretary...
View ArticleMartyr’s son testifies against AKM Yusuf
An eyewitness in the war crimes case against AKM Yusuf yesterday gave a touching description of his father’s murder in 1971, in which the accused was allegedly involved. Abdul Malek Fakir and his...
View ArticleHC stays remand
The High Court yesterday stayed a lower court order granting remand of five BNP leaders for interrogation in connection with two cases of hartal violence. In the cases, Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar, Rafiqul...
View ArticleJCD GS arrested
Police have detained Habibur Rashid Habib, general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of the main opposition BNP. A team of Detective Police picked up Habibur from the...
View ArticleVerdict catches BNP off-guard
Around 45 minutes before the announcement of verdict in a high-profile graft case against Tarique Rahman and Giasuddin Al Mamun, BNP activists yesterday set fire to a BRTC bus at Matidali in Bogra. A...
View ArticlePran’s licence suspended
Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has temporarily suspended Pran’s turmeric powder processing and marketing licence because of a high level of hazardous lead in the spice. “It is a...
View ArticleYunus conveyed to Biswal his concern
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has discussed Bangladesh’s ongoing political unrest and shared his concern about Grameen Bank with Nisha Desai Biswal, US assistant secretary of state for South and...
View ArticleWhat FBI stated in deposition
An FBI agent testified in the money laundering case involving Tk 20.41 crore filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun on November 16,...
View ArticleTarique acquitted
A Dhaka court yesterday acquitted Tarique Rahman, elder son of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, in a money-laundering case involving Tk 20.41 crore. In the same case, the court sentenced his friend and...
View ArticleErshad seeks blessings of Shafi
Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday met Shah Ahmed Shafi, chief of Islamist group Hefajat-e Islam, and sought his “blessings and support” for success in the next general election. During the...
View ArticleUS wants credible polls
US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal yesterday met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia as part of the US government’s effort to engage the two rivals in talks...
View Article4-party polls-time cabinet today
A one-sided election without the BNP and its allies now looks more of a reality, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to form the polls-time cabinet today, picking its new members from among her...
View Article31 die as huge bomb hits Syria govt site
A bomb attack on a Syrian government building near Damascus has killed 31 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Four generals were among the dead, the activist group said. The...
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