World news

Istanbul Reina nightclub attack suspect 'captured'

The main suspect in the New Year's Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul has been arrested, Turkish media report. Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have mounted the attack on the Reina club in which 39 people were killed. The Uzbek national is said to have been caught in Istanbul's

Obama warns Trump not to jettison Iran nuclear deal

US President Barack Obama on Monday marked the first anniversary of the nuclear deal with Iran by emphasizing its “significant and concrete results” and warning the incoming Trump administration against undoing a pact supported by the world’s major powers. In language clearly directed at Donald T

India's Missile Programme 'A Threat To Regional Peace', Says Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN:  Pakistan has cautioned members of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a 35-member elite grouping that includes India and controls export in high-end missile technologies, that introduction of "destabilising systems" like "missile defence programmes" and "inter-continental

Bangladesh PM asks Myanmar to take back Rohingya refugees

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Prime Minister on Wednesday asked Myanmar to take back tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled a military crackdown in the Buddhist majority nation’s Rakhine state, an official said. According to the UN, at least 65,000 people belonging to the Muslim minority have

Obama gets a job offer, from Spotify

If President Barack Obama is still wondering what to do when he leaves office next week, he has a ready job offer — from Spotify. The world’s leading streaming service on Monday advertised an opening for “President of Playlists” — and said it was looking for someone with “at least eight years exp

UN chief Ban Ki-moon bids colleagues, staff farewell

United Nations: Ban Ki-Moon joked to hundreds of diplomats and UN staff as he left United Nations headquarters for the last time as secretary-general that he feels “like Cinderella” tomorrow at midnight, everything changes.” Flanked by the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Counc

NYPD allows Sikh and Muslim officers to grow beards

New York police officers will be allowed to wear beards and turbans while in uniform in accordance with their religion, a measure long demanded by Sikh and Muslim officers. Sikh policemen in New York who request to do so will now be able to wear standard-length turbans, provided they are blue. Th

Bosnia’s main university suspends classes during Muslim prayers

Sarajevo,December 30, 2016: Bosnia’s main university will not hold classes during Muslim Friday prayers, prompting criticism from some that it represents a step towards Islamisation. The University of Sarajevo this week adopted a plan to halt activities for about an-hour-and-a-half each Friday duri

Earthquake of 5.9 magnitude hits Japan

Tokyo [Japan]: An earthquake of 5.9 magnitude has struck north of Tokyo, Japan, reports United States Geological Survey (USGS). However, according to Japan Meteorological Agency, the intensity of the earthquake is measured to be 6.3 on the Richter Scale. The quake struck the city of Takahagi,

21 Civilian executed by rebels in Syria

DAMASCUS, SYRIA: Syrian authorities have accused rebel fighters of executing 21 civilians, including women and children, at close range as they quit second city Aleppo last week, state media reported. The bodies were found in two neighbourhoods in east Aleppo, state news agency SANA said late Sun

Tsunami warning issued as magnitude 7.7 earthquake hits Chile

Santiago [Chile]: A powerful earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale has hit the coast of southern Chile. Officials have ordered an evacuation of the coastal area after a Tsunami threat was issued for parts of the Pacific Ocean close to the earthquake, reports The Independent. According

Female suicide bomber blows herself up in Dhaka, 2 killed

Two militants, a female and a boy, were killed in separate suicide blasts when Bangladesh Police raided their hideout here on Saturday. Counter terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) concluded their operation after 2 militants - a woman and a teenager were kille

Evacuation ordered in Philippines as typhoon approaches

Manila: Philippine disaster officials on Saturday ordered people living in coastal villages south of Manila to move to safer places as Typhoon Nock-ten is approaching the country. Speaking for the national disaster agency, Mina Marasigan told reporters that evacuation has got underway along the c

Aleppo evacuation grinds to a halt

The evacuation of the last Opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shia villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The second day of the operation to take fighters and c

China upset as Dalai Lama meets President Pranab Mukherjee

BEIJING China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday after exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise.Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace lau

US president-elect Donald Trump says will build safe zones in Syria

US president-elect Donald Trump has said he will build safe zones in Syria and will make the Gulf states to pay for it. “We will build safe zones in Syria,” Trump said at a post-election victory rally in Pennsylvania last night. “When I look at what’s going on in Syria it’s so sad, it’s so sad. A

Buy American, Hire Americans: Donald Trump To Follow '2 Simple Rules'

Washington: "Buy American and hire Americans" - US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said his government will follow these two simple rules and claimed that the treaties the US had signed with other countries suggest that it has been putting interests of others ahead of itself. At a 'Thank Y

Putin wants normalisation of bilateral ties with Japan

Tokyo: Moscow seeks full normalisation of relations with Tokyo as it is imperative for the resolution of a peace treaty, the Russian President said on Tuesday. “We strive to sign a peace treaty. We want full-scale normalisation of relations,” Efe news agency quoted Vladimir Putin as saying in an