Wednesday, 17 Sep, 2025

International

Delhi world’s most polluted city, beats Beijing

DHAKA: A Yale University study has found national capital Delhi the world’s most polluted city.It beats China’s Beijing, where pollution alerts prompted immediate government intervention.Delhi’s rising levels of pollution seem to have so far been ignored by government agencies.India

Use force in CAR if necessary

DHAKA: The United Nations Security Council voted Tuesday to not only continue its peacekeepers` mission in the tumultuous Central African Republic but to authorize the use of force by European Union troops there, the world body said.The decision came just over a week after the nation

UNESCO warns of global learning crisis

DHAKA: A crisis in global education is costing governments $129bn a year, while 10 percent of spending on primary learning is lost on poor quality education that is failing children, a new report by UNESCO has said.The report, Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all, released on

New Zealand to hold referendum over changing flag

DHAKA: New Zealand prime minister John Key said on Wednesday he supported changing the national flag, but would hold a referendum before any decision was made to ditch the existing banner.The current flag has attracted criticism because one corner features the Union Jack, the symbol of

Australia PM calls ABC unpatriotic

DHAKA: Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has criticised national broadcaster ABC for ‘taking everyone’s side but Australia’s’.Abbott said the publicly-funded broadcaster should show ‘some basic affection for the home team’, reports the BBC.The ABC has been at the forefront

Obama for Guantanamo closure this year

DHAKA: President Barack Obama told Americans that 2014 should be the year to finally close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay as the United States winds down its military role in Afghanistan and shifts away from a "permanent war footing".In his annual State of the Union address on Wednesday,

7 killed in India bus fire

DHAKA: Seven people were killed in Maharashtra when a luxury bus caught fire after colliding with a diesel tanker on the highway, late on Tuesday night.Fourteen others were injured in the accident, which took place at around 1 am near Manor on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, when most

Rahul under attack over remarks on Sikh riots

DHAKA: India’s opposition criticised ruling party leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday for avoiding any expression of regret for the killings of Sikhs in riots three decades ago, a sensitive issue that threatens to dog him in a tight election due by May.Gandhi said the government led by his

Azharuddin likely to contest India national polls

DHAKA: Former India captain and current Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Azharuddin, in all likelihood, would contest the upcoming election from a constituency in West Bengal.Azharuddin, who formally joined Congress in February 2009, had contested from Moradabad in western Uttar Pradesh in the last

Mladic refuses to testify for Karadzic at ICTY trial

DHAKA: Ex-Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic has refused to testify after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic called him as a defence witness at his war crimes trial at The Hague.Denouncing the UN tribunal as ‘satanic’, Mladic said testifying could prejudice his own case,

India to buy Japan-made military aircraft

DHAKA: India is set to become the first country since World War II to buy a military aircraft from Japan, helping prime minister Shinzo Abe end a ban on weapons exports that has kept his country’s defence contractors out of foreign markets. The two countries are in broad agreement on a

Yingluck maintains Feb 2 election date

DHAKA: Thailand’s government vowed on Tuesday to push ahead with controversial elections this weekend, despite threats by opposition protesters to disrupt the polls in an attempt to stop the ruling party returning to power.The announcement came after talks between prime minister

Ukrainian PM resigns over months of unrest

DHAKA: Ukraine prime minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday in a bid to defuse the country’s deadly crisis and preserve its unity, finally giving into months of pressure from street protesters.Azarov said he had taken a ‘personal decision’ to resign to preserve Ukraine’s unity

Mursi jail escape trial ‘begins’

DHAKA: The trial of Egypt’s former Islamist president Mohammed Mursi over his escape from prison in 2011 has begun, state media say.He was taken to the court in Cairo by helicopter from a prison in Alexandria, Mena news agency reports, says the BBC.Mursi, Egypt’s first freely-elected

Rahul forecasts victory in first TV interview

DHAKA: Rahul Gandhi, whose family have dominated post-independence politics in India, forecast an unlikely victory for his beleaguered Congress party in upcoming elections as he gave his first ever television interview on Monday.The 43-year-old, the ruling Congress party’s de facto

Bird flu resurges in China ahead of New Year

DHAKA: When a 39-year-old furniture factory owner named He came down with flu symptoms late last year, he wasn’t worried.According to his family, the man, who worked in Guangdong province in southern China, had always been healthy, reports CNN.Weeks later, He was on a ventilator.

Bilawal for military action on Pakistan Taliban

DHAKA: The son of the assassinated former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, has called on the country’s authorities to take military action against militant groups.Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said politicians must ‘wake up’ to the threat posed by armed groups such as the

UN urges end to ransom payments

DHAKA: The UN Security Council has approved a resolution urging countries to stop paying ransoms to terrorist groups.The UK-drafted resolution is designed to put pressure on governments, reports BBC.The British UN ambassador said al-Qaida-linked groups had made at least $105m (£63m; 77m

Australia names new governor-general

DHAKA: Retired defence chief Peter Cosgrove has been nominated as Australia`s next governor-general by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.The ceremonial role, as representative of Queen Elizabeth II, involves opening parliament, giving assent to laws and receiving official visitors.Cosgrove will

Pope John Paul II relic stolen

DHAKA: Italian police are hunting for a stolen holy relic that contains the blood of Pope John Paul ll.It appears to have been taken during the burglary of a small chapel that was a place of special significance to the late Pope.The church of San Pietro della Ienca lies in an isolated