DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to carry on the frequent ‘tough but constructive’ contacts he has had with chancellor Angela Merkel on the Ukraine crisis.Putin’s spokesman has told German TV, reports The Straits Times.Dmitry Peskov told ZDF television that the

DHAKA: Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Sunday that the Ukraine crisis underscored the need to protect the right of nations to map out their own future.In an op-ed entitled ‘The right to choose’, the outgoing secretary general called Russia’s actions in Crimea a violation of

DHAKA: Six people were killed on Sunday in clashes between groups backing rival candidates in Turkey’s municipal elections, which turned into a referendum on the rule of prime minister Tayyip Erdogan.Security officials said four people were killed in a gun fight between two families in

DHAKA: Leading scientists and officials completed a fresh climate report on Sunday expected to lay bare the grim impact of climate change, with warnings that global food shortages could spark violence in vulnerable areas.Part of a massive overview by the United Nations’

DHAKA: An official photograph of Prince George with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has been released ahead of their tour of Australia and New Zealand.The eight-month-old is pictured in his mother’s arms while Prince William holds their dog, Lupo.In the image, taken by royal

DHAKA: Japan and North Korea on Sunday held the first formal government-level talks in more than a year following a shift in Pyongyang’s handling of past abductions of Japanese citizens.The two-day meeting in Beijing came after diplomats held informal talks on the sidelines of a

DHAKA: The search for a Malaysian airliner intensified on Sunday, 22 days after it vanished with 239 people on board, as relatives of Chinese passengers arrived in Malaysia to demand answers about their fate.Eight ships, the largest number so far - and 10 planes from six countries were

DHAKA: Tens of thousands of census-takers fanned out across Myanmar on Sunday to gather data for a rare snapshot of the former junta-ruled nation that is already stoking sectarian tensions.Groups of schoolteachers and local officials began the 12-day population survey, the first since

DHAKA: North Korea said on Sunday it ‘will not rule out’ a new nuclear test as it defended its recent mid-range missile launch which triggered widespread international condemnation.‘(We) will not rule out a new form of a nuclear test aimed at strengthening our nuclear deterrence,’

DHAKA: People in Turkey are voting in local elections that analysts say could determine the political future of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.They are the first elections since mass protests erupted last June and a corruption scandal hit the government, reports the BBC.Erdogan is

DHAKA: At least 70 people are reported to have died from Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Guinea, according to a statement from the West African nation`s health ministry.Officials say there are at least 111 suspected cases of the viral disease, which spreads in the blood and shuts down the

DHAKA: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet Sunday evening in Paris to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, according to the State Department.Kerry and Lavrov are expected to discuss efforts to diffuse tensions surrounding the situation in

DHAKA: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumed Sunday, but stormy weather may cause problems, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.A Chinese aircraft took off at 6:20 a.m. local time (6:20 p.m. ET). Other aircraft, including a South Korean P-3 Orion and a U.S.

DHAKA: Jaswant Singh, 76, has been expelled by the BJP for refusing to change his mind about running as an independent candidate for Parliament from Barmer in Rajasthan. Jaswant Singh has been expelled for six years. In 2009, he had been removed from the party because it felt his book

DHAKA: The Party of Regions of Ukraine has deprived Viktor Yanukovych of party membership based on his application.The decision was made at a party congress held behind closed doors on Saturday, reports The Voice of Russia.One of the delegates told Interfax that former prime minister

DHAKA: Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea’s referendum on seceding from Ukraine.UN diplomats said, reports The Jerusalem Post.The

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry made a last-minute change of plans on Saturday to fly to Paris with the aim of setting up talks with his Russian counterpart on the Ukraine crisis.After leaving Riyadh early Saturday, the top US diplomat had been due to fly home to Washington via a

DHAKA: Crimea’s Tatars will on Saturday hold a vote on whether to push for self-rule in their historic homeland following its annexation by Russia.Ethnic Tatars from all over Crimea convened in the town of Bakhchisaray for an emergency Qurultai, or congress, to decide on the fate of the

DHAKA: The US has been talking with India and China among other countries as part of diplomatic efforts to isolate Russia but it has not yet asked them to impose any sanctions.An American official said on Saturday, reports The Times of India.‘We have been talking with other countries

DHAKA: Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday the European Union should form an energy union to bolster its energy security and lessen its dependence on key gas supplier Russia whose annexation of Crimea has caused a tense stand-off with the West.Russia, which provides around