By VICE News North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been dead for more than four years, but his February 16 birthday is still lavishly celebrated by the regime he left behind. The festivities this year, when the diminutive tyrant would…
Category: Int’l relations
‘Mr. Trump will not be president’: Obama on offensive
By Sarah Mimms President Barack Obama was highly critical of Donald Trump in a press conference on Tuesday that turned into a scathing assessment of the Republican candidates to replace him as president of the United States. “I continue to…
Apple rejects ‘unprecedented’ order to help FBI
Apple computers is resisting a U.S. government order to unlock its encrypted iPhone software to help the FBI examine a phone used by the militants who killed 14 people in a terrorist-style attack in California in December. Apple’s chief executive…
Russia rejects ‘war crimes’ blame in Syria
By Sally Hayden and Reuters The Kremlin has strongly rejected accusations by Turkey that Russia committed an “obvious war crime” in Syria after missile attacks killed scores of people on Monday, hitting several medical facilities and schools. “We categorically do…
‘Regime collapse’ awaits North Korea, says South’s leader
President Park Geun-hye issues tough warning and again accuses Kim Jong-un’s government of using cross-border funding to further weapons programme South Korea’s president has warned that North Korea faces “regime collapse” if it does not abandon its nuclear programme. Park…
Former UN chief Boutros-Ghali dead
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a history-making diplomat who made his mark as an architect of the Camp David accords and then became the United Nations’ first African secretary-general, has died. Rafael Ramirez Carreno, Venezuela’s U.N. ambassador and current head of the U.N.…
IFJ calls cases against Mahfuz politically motivated
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed serious concerns over a barrage of legal cases filed against The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam. It said the attempt to pursue coordinated legal proceedings against the editor was a clear attempt…
Arrest warrant issued against Daily Star editor
A Narayanganj court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against English-language newspaper The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam in a defamation suit. Senior judicial magistrate Saiduzzaman Sharif passed the order after taking the case into cognisance. Public prosecutor Wazed Ali…
Khaleda complains of media intimidation
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Tuesday said showing Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman arrested despite his bail granted by the High Court is tantamount to contempt of court. Voicing deep concerns over keeping the editor “in…
Bangladesh fisherman kidnapped by BSF
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) members picked up a Bangladeshi fisherman from the Teesta River in Dimla upazila on Monday evening.
Strikes on schools and hospitals in Syria ‘war crimes’
France and Turkey denounce raids in which up to 50 people were killed as Assad casts doubt on prospects for a truce. France and Turkey have called the bombing of two schools and five hospitals in Syria “war crimes”, while…
Thai Army wants to train in Bangladesh
Royal Thai Army wants to train its officers at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) before deploying them to UN peacekeeping missions.Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army General Teerachai Nakwanich conveyed the interest when Bangladesh Ambassador in Bangkok…
Saudis hosting largest military exercise in region, 20 countries invited
Soldiers from 20 countries will be gathering in Saudi Arabia for massive military exercises that are to go on for 18 days, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. It comes as Riyadh has openly warned Syrian President Assad that…
Republican candidates’ endorsement of torture shames America
Dr. Habib Siddiqui At the Republican debate in New Hampshire, when Senator Ted Cruz was asked whether waterboarding is torture, he replied that it is not. “Under the law, torture is excruciating pain equivalent to losing organs and systems,” he…
President Xi Jinping’s travel to the Middle East
By Giancarlo Elia Valori Historically, the Silk Road was established during the Han dynasty, between 206 B.C and 220 A.D., after the long Chinese exploration of Southern and Western Asia which had started at least two thousand years before. As…
Another 17 cases filed against Mahfuz Anam
Seventeen more cases were filed against the Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam in 17 districts across the country on Monday, bringing the number of cases against him to 35. The cases – either defamation or sedition – were filed for…
Missiles hit Syrian schools and hospitals
At least 14 civilians were killed when missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other locations in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz near the Turkish border on Monday, a medic and two residents said.They said at least five…
Taking North Korea at its Word
B.R. Myers Why we should take more seriously what North Korea tells its own people When the North Koreans test another nuclear device or launch another missile, the question I am most often asked is, “Why now?” Why February and…
Five UN peacekeepers killed in Mali mortar attack
Mali etremist mortar attack kills five UN peacekeepers Five UN peacekeepers have been killed in a mortar attack on their base in Kidal in northern Mali. Thirty others were hurt when militants used a van packed with explosives to ram…
Turkey continues assault on Kurds in Syria
A Turkish assault on positions claimed by Kurdish fighters in northern Syria has continued into a second day.On Saturday, Turkey began shelling the militia, which it says is linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).The YPG militia, which is…
The post Iran nuclear deal deal scenario
By Chandra Muzaffar Now that the Iran nuclear deal is being implemented, it is perhaps time to ask, what does it mean for Iran, if implemented for other nations in West Asia and North Africa (WANA), for Israel, for the…
Palestinian President pleased with BD
Bangladesh has won the heart of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.He has termed Bangladesh an ‘unflinching proponent’ of his people’s just causes.The foreign ministry said he expressed “deep gratitude” for Bangladesh’s “continued support and assistance” to Palestine. He held a meeting…
France urges Russia to stop bombing civilians
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has called on Russia to stop hitting civilians in air raids in Syria.Mr Valls said an end to bombing civilians was the key to peace.His Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said there was “no evidence of…
Russian threat of world war if troops sent to Syria
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the deployment of foreign ground troops in the Syrian conflict could result in a world war. Medvedev was quoted as saying in an interview published late on Thursday by the German newspaper…
US, Russia, European powers agree to Syrian truce in week
(RFE/RL) — Major powers agreed on Saturday to a cessation of hostilities in Syria and to expand delivery of humanitarian aid to people caught up in the conflict, top diplomats said in Munich on February 12. U.S. Secretary of State…
Most of Hillary Clinton’s emails to be released
By Jason Leopold In a major victory for transparency, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the State Department to release former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails prior to the Democratic primary and caucus remaining this month. The order was…
Studying under fire in Ukraine – HRW
Berlin – Hostilities in eastern Ukraine have damaged or destroyed hundreds of schools, many of which were used by parties to the conflict for military purposes, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 65-page report, “Studying Under…
EP wants agreed mechanism before next elections
Dhaka – The visiting delegation of the European Parliament (EP) favours some ‘agreed mechanisms’ well ahead of the next general election due in 2019 so that ‘many parties’ can participate in it in a free, fair and open manner with…
EP for ‘agreed mechanisms’ for 2019 election
The visiting delegation of the European Parliament (EP) favours some ‘agreed mechanisms’ well ahead of the next general election due in 2019 so that ‘many parties’ can participate in it in a free, fair and open manner with ‘maximum choices’.
First-ever Rohingya census begins
The first-ever census of unregistered Rohingya population in Bangladesh began in six districts on Friday to determine their exact number and stop their further influx into Bangladesh. Resolving the long-pending issue in a systematic and transparent way is also the…