DHAKA: North Korea slammed South Korea on Sunday for dismissing a peace overture by leader Kim Jong Un, accusing Seoul of ‘pouring cold water’ on its attempt to mend ties.During his New Year address last Wednesday, Kim hailed the execution last month of his once-powerful uncle, and

DHAKA: China investigated almost 37,000 officials suspected of corruption in more than 27,000 cases between January and November.China state media said on Sunday, reports The Straits Times.Out of the 27,236 cases, 12,824 resulted in ‘losses for the people’ involving a total of 5.51

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama is going to give his wife the birthday present that many parents can only dream of, time off, alone, without the children.The White House said on Saturday first lady Michelle Obama would stay in Hawaii, where the family has been on vacation for the last

DHAKA: Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was on Sunday still facing ‘imminent’ death.The Tel Aviv hospital where he is in critical condition said.Sharon’s ‘heart is holding out better than we thought, but he’s still in danger of imminent death’, Tel Hashomer hospital

DHAKA: A Saudi Arabian Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Muslim holy city Medina in the west of the kingdom on Sunday, injuring 29 people, an aviation authority spokesman said.The Saudia aircraft was travelling from the Iranian city of Mashhad with 315 passengers on board, General

DHAKA: Bracing for the big exercise, India’s Election Commission is all set to hold national Lok Sabha elections starting mid-April and spread it over at least five phases till early May.The much-awaited announcement for the polls is likely to be made by the end of February or early

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry voiced confidence on Sunday the Iraqi government and tribes would be successful in their fight against Al-Qaeda, and said Washington was not considering sending troops back to Iraq.Sectarian and ethnic tensions have risen in Iraq since the US

DHAKA: A lawyer representing Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said on Sunday the retired general would not make a scheduled appearance at his treason trial on Monday because of an ongoing illness.The 70-year-old was rushed to a military hospital on Thursday after

DHAKA: Indonesian authorities have extended a danger zone around a rumbling volcano in the country`s west after it erupted more than 50 times, spewing blistering gas farther than expected.The eruptions on Saturday sent searing lava streaming out of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province

DHAKA: Rescue teams Sunday continued to rummage through the debris of an under-construction five-storeyed building, which collapsed Saturday afternoon at Canacona, 80 km from Panaji, killing 14 onsite labourers.Police said a portion of the building, Ruby Residency, located in the Chawdi

DHAKA: Parts of the US are braced for potentially record-breaking low temperatures as an Arctic chill brings more freezing weather.A winter storm has already blanketed areas of Canada and the north-eastern US with up to 2ft (60 cm) of snow.It has been blamed for 16 deaths and the

DHAKA: The US has dismissed as a hoax a video purportedly showing CCTV footage of senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade’s strip search after her arrest, saying it is a ‘dangerous and provocative fabrication’.‘This video, which we are aware of, is absolutely not footage of Ms

DHAKA: The Russian authorities are to set up a special zone for protest rallies at the Sochi Winter Olympics, where security will be tight.A special security regime will be in place in and around the southern city from 7 January until 21 March.The authorities announced last year that a

DHAKA: Qatar said on Saturday the decision by Egypt to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group was ‘a prelude to a shoot-to-kill policy’ against demonstrators.Qatar was a firm supporter of Egypt’s former Islamist president Mohamed Mursi and ties with Cairo have

DHAKA: Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist-leaning government is engulfed in a corruption scandal, on Saturday called the political crisis a ‘plot’ against Turkey’s ‘future and stability’ by rival forces.At a luncheon in Istanbul with generally

DHAKA: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un executed his uncle by having him stripped naked and eaten alive by starving dogs while he watched.Jang Song-thaek was said to have been thrown into a cage with his five closest aides, after which 120 hounds, which had been starved for three days,

DHAKA: Six workers died, many were injured while some are feared trapped under the debris of an under-construction building in Canacona town, 60 km from Panaji on Saturday.Police said a portion of a three-storeyed building, Ruby Residency located in the Chawdi ward of Canacona,

DHAKA: Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday called on the powerful military to get involved in reforming the country’s junta-era constitution, which currently bars her from becoming president.The Nobel laureate, who has repeatedly asserted her readiness to take on

DHAKA: The Chinese ice-breaker that helped rescue passengers stranded on the Akademik Shokalskiy vessel in Antarctica is now stuck itself.An Australian ice-breaker carrying the rescued passengers is no longer on standby and is returning to shore.On Thursday, a helicopter from the Chinese

DHAKA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar of Indian state of Bihar on Saturday said India prime minister Manmohan Singh’s press conference Friday was only meant to bid farewell to public life.‘There is nothing more to react to the Prime Minister’s press conference other than it being a