Tens of thousands of people braved heavy rain and lined the streets of Singapore on Sunday to catch a last glimpse of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew as his funeral procession wound through the country he helped build.
Category: Int’l relations
Australia take Cricket World Cup for 5th time
Michael Clarke marked his final one-day international with a fine 74 as Australia won their fifth World Cup, beating fellow co-hosts New Zealand by seven wickets in a one-sided final in Melbourne on Sunday. New Zealand, who defeated Australia by…
349 take nomination papers: City polls pulse up
As candicates have collected nomination papers for the city elections in Dhaka and Chittagong, the pulse of the atmosphere in the two primier cities of the country have started going up. On Sunday food minister Quamrul Islam in an apparent…
Nigerians vote in first genuine contest since end of dictatorship
Nigerians vote on Saturday in what looks set to be the first genuine electoral contest since the end of military rule in 1999, one in which an opposition aspirant has a fighting chance of unseating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
History hangs over Nigeria’s election candidates
By Katarina Hoije Standing at a busy Lagos intersection, a young girl lifts her cell phone to her face and snaps a picture of herself and a billboard. When the image appears on the screen, the presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari…
Germanwings crash: Co-pilot ‘had depression’
The man suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings A320 plane in the French Alps required treatment for depression, German media say. Regular assessments were recommended in Andreas Lubitz’s official notes after a serious episode some years ago. The Barcelona-Duesseldorf plane…
Candidates with criminal cases face police action
Legal actions will be taken against the candidates facing criminal cases if they contest the Dhaka city corporation elections without securing bail, said a senior police official on Thursday. “The law enforcers will take legal actions against the candidates who…
Saudi Arabia, allies launch air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters
Saudi Arabia and Gulf region allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday, officials said, to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden where the US-backed Yemeni president had taken refuge.
Saudi airstrikes start in Yemen to halt rebel advance
By John Beck Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US said on Wednesday that his country has started bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen, adding that it was necessary to stop the “legitimate government” of the country from falling. On Thursday, however,…
Indian SC strikes down law that restricts Internet postings
The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law that gave authorities powers to jail people for offensive online posts, a verdict hailed as a victory for free speech in the world’s largest growth market for the Internet. Section…
Germanwings pilot ‘locked out of cockpit before crash’?
By Sally Hayden A search and rescue operation is continuing in the French Alps, as officials attempt to understand exactly what caused Tuesday’s plane crash tragedy that is thought to have killed 150 people. An Airbus A320 aircraft crashed in…
BSF detains 4 Comilla detective Branch police at border
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has detained four Bangladeshi detectives from Ashabarhi border in Comilla. The personnel of police’s Detective Branch crossed into the Indian side inadvertently on Wednesday evening while searching for smugglers, Assistant Superintendent Jahangir Alam said.
Citizens’ platform wants ex-Mayor Manzurul contest in Ctg
Chattagram Unnayan Andolon, a citizens’ platform, on Wednesday decided to endorse current Chittagong City Corporation mayor Monjurul Alam as a mayoral candidate for the upcoming CCC mayor election. Andolon convener and Chittagong University teacher Prof Abul Kalam Azad announced this…
Shoto Nagorik plea to extend nomination time rejected
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday turned down a request for extension of deadline for submission of nomination paper of Dhaka and Chittagong city corporation elections by two or three days. Rejecting the Shoto Nagorik Committee proposal for…
City elections drama to divert attention from movement: 20-Party
Though BNP leaders collected nomination papers to contest the polls, the party-led 20-party alliance on Wednesday termed a ‘serious conspiracy, blueprint and farce’ the announcement of schedule for Dhaka and Chittagong city polls at a time when its movement is…
Saudi Arabia building up military near Yemen border: US officials
Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, US officials said on Tuesday, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.
US acknowledges North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile
North Korea is in the process of developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Admiral Cecil D. Haney confirmed during testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. The existence of such a program, suspected for at least the…
British MPs want pressure for prompt free, fair polls in Bd
The British House of Commons has recorded an early day motion (EDM) supported by 10 MPs noting with alarm the lack of free and open democratic process in Bangladesh. The motion sponsored by liberal democrat Huppert Julian calls upon the…
AL to pick candidate for Dhaka South, Bnp weighs options
The AL leadership is yet to announce the name of its nominee for Mayor of Dhaka city south although Syed Khokan has already become lound in his claim of getting the paarty nomination Khokon, son of former Dhaka mayor Mohammad…
Bus pile-up leads to 37 deaths in Peru
At least 37 people were killed and 70 injured in a collision involving three buses and a truck in central Peru on Monday, authorities said.
‘Israel’s occupation of West Bank ‘must end’
After a divisive election campaign by incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that further soured his already troubled relationship with the US, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff said Monday that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank “must end,” and…
Election Working Group for level-playing field in city polls
Election Working Group (EWG), a 29-member coalition of civil society organisations, on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure a level-playing field for the candidates contesting the upcoming elections to the three city corporations of Dhaka and Chittagong. “EWG welcomes…
Third museum gunman on the run: Tunisian president
Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi said on Sunday that a third gunman involved in an attack that killed 23 people, mostly foreign tourists, at a Tunis museum last week was on the run.
Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew dies at 91
Lee Kuan Yew, the statesman who transformed Singapore from a small port city into a wealthy global hub, has died at the age of 91. The city-state’s prime minister for 31 years, he was widely respected as the architect of…
Fearing Islamic State, some Afghan Shi’ites seek help from old enemies
Even by Afghanistan’s standards of often-shifting alliances, a recent meeting between ethnic Hazara elders and local commanders of the Taliban insurgents who have persecuted them for years was extraordinary.
China, Japan and South Korea hold renewed talks
The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea are meeting for their first talks in three years.
Obama tells Iran of ‘historic’ opportunity
US President Barack Obama has told the Iranian people that a deal to transform the relationship between the two countries could be within reach.
Tunis museum attack: President vows to fight terror
Tunisia’s president has vowed to fight terrorism “without mercy”, following a gun attack on the Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis that killed 19 people.
Israel election: Netanyahu’s Likud storms to victory
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party has won a surprise victory in Israel’s election.
Dhaka, Chittagong city corporation polls April 28
Elections to partitioned Dhaka City Corporation north and south and Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) will be held on April 28 next. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad announced the polls schedules for the three city corporations at a press briefing…