DHAKA: The United States believes that elements of the militant Islamic State (IS) group are “connected” to operatives in Bangladesh, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday, promising help with intelligence and law enforcement after a wave of militant attacks. Mr Kerry’s blunt statement followed the July 1 attack on a cafe in an upscale district of Dhaka in ...

WASHINGTON: The United States and India on Monday signed a defence agreement that will have a direct impact on both Pakistan and China. The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) allows the two allies to use each other’s military facilities for checking China’s growing influence in Asia and in the fight against terrorists. Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar — in ...

BEIJING: Police have ordered some low-end hotels in the Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou not to allow guests from five Muslim-majority countries to stay, though China’s foreign ministry said it had never heard of the policy. Three hotels with rooms costing about $23 a night said they had received police notices as early as March, telling them to turn away people ...

BEIRUT: Syria’s conflict broke out in March 2011 with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s government but has evolved into a complex war involving jihadist groups and regional and international powers. Over 290,000 people have been killed and more than half Syria’s population displaced in the conflict, which Turkey entered this week, dispatching troops to battle the militant Islamic State ...

The footage of a wounded Syrian boy has once again sent shockwaves across the globe as it purportedly shows the wounded child being recovered from under the rebel amid fierce clashes in Syria. The distressing footage has refreshed the bitter memories of a Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi, who lost his life as his family attempted to flee the unending atrocities ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their press conference in Konstantinovsky Palace outside Saint Petersburg. -AFP SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to reinvigorate ties after their first meeting since Ankara shot down a Russian warplane last November. Erdogan’s visit to Putin’s hometown ...

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during an event for foreign investors, in Ankara. —AP ISTANBUL: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused the West of supporting “terror” and the coup plotters who tried to unseat him, in his toughest attack on Ankara’s Western allies since the July 15 attempted putsch. “Unfortunately, the West is supporting terror and standing ...

GLASGOW: Around 3,000 people rallied in Glasgow on Saturday demanding a second referendum on Scottish independence in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the EU. While 52 per cent of UK voters opted to quit the European Union in the June 23 referendum, within Scotland, 62pc voted for Britain to stay in the 28-country bloc. But the rally came ...

KABUL: Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov has expressed concern over security situation in the southern border with Afghanistan, a media report said on Friday. According to Sputnik report the Uzbek president during a Security Council meeting discussed deteriorated security situations in neighboring Afghanistan and its spillover effects on the country’s southern border. The presidential services said the meeting which was chaired ...

LONDON: Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday she would start preparatory work on splitting Scotland from the rest of Britain in order to keep the option of independence available following the June 23 vote to leave the European Union. Although Britain voted to end its EU membership at the referendum, Scottish voters overwhelmingly backed remaining inside the bloc, reigniting ...