DHAKA: India’s main opposition BJP has chosen actor-turned politician Smriti Irani to stand against Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in the general elections.Irani, who was the leading actress in one of India’s most popular TV soaps, will take on Gandhi in the Amethi constituency in

DHAKA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "partial withdrawal" of troops from the border with Ukraine, the German government said.Putin informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the move in a telephone conversation, according to her office.Thousands of Russian soldiers are still

DHAKA: Malaysian authorities have issued a new version of the last communication between air traffic control and the cockpit of the missing flight MH370.The last words spoken were "Good night Malaysian three seven zero" - and not "all right, good night" as reported.The transport ministry

DHAKA: The Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the crumbling peace talks beyond April 29, saying it was akin to ‘blackmail’.A Palestinian official in Ramallah told media on Monday, reports TDS.‘Israel is practising a policy of blackmail and linking its agreement

DHAKA: Ukraine on Monday denounced the visit of Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev to Crimea, describing it as a ‘crude violation’ of the rules of international behaviour.‘The Ukrainian foreign ministry, in its note to the Russian Federation, expressed a categorical protest and

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry broke from his travel schedule for the second time in a week to return to the Middle East on Monday to discuss fragile peace talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.‘After consulting with his team, Secretary Kerry decided it would be productive

DHAKA: Government-level talks between Japan and North Korea ended on Monday in Beijing on a positive note, with Pyongyang apparently prepared to discuss the Japanese citizens kidnapped by its spies decades ago.At their first formal meeting in 16 months, diplomats from the two countries

DHAKA: Russia’s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Crimea, the most senior Russian official to visit since it was annexed from Ukraine.Medvedev announced that the region would become a special economic zone, with incentives for businesses.The Russian government says it is

DHAKA: Rescue crews have put no time limit on the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has said, reports the BBC.Abbott told reporters near Perth, where the operation is being co-ordinated, that the hunt for flight MH370 was still being

DHAKA: Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak will travel to Perth on Wednesday to observe search operations firsthand.Malaysia’s Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.Najib will be there to ‘thank everyone involved in search’,

DHAKA: Thousands of travellers, many of them visiting family during the Iranian new year holidays, have been rescued after being trapped by unexpected snowstorms in north Iran.A report said on Monday, according to The Straits Times.Red Crescent spokesman Hossein Derakhshan told the

DHAKA: Russian forces have begun a gradual withdrawal from the Ukrainian border, a Ukrainian defence ministry official told media, without specifying the number of troops involved.‘In recent days, the Russian forces have been gradually withdrawing from the border,’ the Ukrainian

DHAKA: At least 16 people were killed in rain and hailstorms that triggered flooding and landslides in southern China.China officials said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.The severe weather, which began last Friday, has affected seven provinces and municipalities, China’s ministry

DHAKA: Pakistan’s former president, Pervez Musharraf, on Monday pleaded not guilty to five counts of treason, in the latest chapter of a long-running drama between the country’s increasingly assertive judiciary and its former military ruler.Musharraf faces the death penalty if

DHAKA: All evidence points to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being lost in the remote Indian Ocean, Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said on Monday, backing his Malaysian counterpart’s view that the plane crashed.The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished on March 8 carrying

DHAKA: A court in Pakistan has charged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf with treason, the first army chief to face such a prosecution.Musharraf is accused of unlawfully suspending the constitution and instituting emergency rule in 2007.He pleaded not guilty and has always claimed

DHAKA: The impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible", a major report by the UN has warned.Scientists and officials meeting in Japan say the document is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the impacts of climate change on the world.Members of

DHAKA: A day after raising the possibility of further nuclear tests, North Korea has engaged in provocative live-fire exercises near the South Korean maritime border, leading to an exchange of fire between the two neighbors.Semi-official South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Monday

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced no breakthrough on Ukraine, following four hours of "frank" talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.Kerry said he told Lavrov that the US still considered Russia`s takeover of Ukraine`s Crimea region to be "illegal and

DHAKA: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said on Sunday it will set up a Family Assistance Centre (FAC) for families of passengers on board a missing flight, as Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak vowed full commitment to the search operation.‘The FAC will become the focal point for all