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 US advocates strong and inclusive democracy in Bangladesh, United States’ Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal said today. "We do believe Bangladesh’s strength is democracy and for that we are partnering with Bangladesh on that aspect," she said in a pre-departure press conference at American Club in Dhaka this afternoon. Asked about the US’s latest position on January 5 elections, Biswal said it is the people of Bangladesh who determine the timetable of the polls. "We support political dialogue... we expect responsibilities from all political parties to face political events with responsibly and peacefully,” she added. Biswal arrived in Dhaka on November 27 for a three-day visit to Bangladesh. During her visit, she met with governmen...

Agence France-Presse (AFP) © Muhammed Giginyu/AP Photo People gather at the site of a bomb explosion in Kano, Nigeria on Friday.At least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded on Friday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers at the mosque of one of Nigeria's top Islamic leaders.The attack at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim north of the country, came just as Friday prayers had started. The mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II, Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric, who last week urged civilians to take up arms against Boko Haram. The blasts came after a bomb attack was foiled against a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri earlier on Friday, five days a...

A Dhaka court today sent sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddique to prison on surrender before a police station in a case filed for his comments demeaning hajj. Latif Siddique surrendered at Dhanmondi Model Police Station around 1:30pm, Mohammad Jahangir, a sub-inspector of the police station, told The Daily Star Online. He was produced before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqur Rahman’s court around 2:30pm, reports our correspondent from the spot. Latif Siddique told the magistrate that he did not appoint a lawyer to defend him. After a short hearing of the case filed by pro-BNP lawyer Abed Raza over hurting Muslims’ religious sentiments, the magistrate ordered police to lock up Latif Siddique in jail. Lawyer Abed Raza claimed Latif Siddique hurt the religious sentiment of all Muslim...

Jubo Dal leader ‘masterminded’ RU teacher killing: Rab 8 others, including Jamaat activists, held in Rajshahi, Gazipur, Bogra File photo of Rajshahi University Sociology teacher Shafiul Islam Elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) today claimed to have arrested six including a former Jubo Dal leader of Rajshahi who allegedly masterminded the murder of Rajshahi University teacher Shafiul Islam. Four of the six were arrested form different areas in Rajshahi and Gazipur, according to Rab. The alleged mastermind, Ariful Islam Manik, was a former organising secretary Katakhali municipality unit of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the you wing of BNP, Maksudul Alam deputy director of Rab media wing told The Daily Star Online. Further detail in this regard was expected to be made public at a press...

 A Malaysian court today charged two local immigration officers in connection with murdering a Bangladeshi detainee, reports native media house The Star. Md Aminnudin Yasin and Zuhairul Effendy Zualkafli, immigration officers at Kangar in a provincial capital Perlis, allegedly killed Abu Bakar Siddiqe, 45, in custody. The Star quoted another news agency Bernama to state that Abu Bakar Siddique was murdered in the pantry at level 2 of the immigration premises at Kompleks KDN between 10:00pm and 11:00pm on October 29. The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34, carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction. Malaysian Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizi Nik Mohd Shukri set December 12 for re-mention. Deputy Public Prosecutor Badius Zaman Ahmad appeared for the...

Huffington Post UK © Provided by Huffington Post woman awake in bedThe majority of Brits are troubled by sleep deprivation, but it seems women are suffering more than men.According to a new survey, women need at least at 15 days more sleep each year than they get. Men are 10 days short of sleep on average. In the survey of 2,000 adults, on average people said they needed seven and a half hours sleep per night. Women said they usually get six hours 21 minutes per night, but want seven hours 23 minutes. They have an average sleep deficit of one hour two minutes, which adds up to 15 days 17 hours annually. Men said they get six hours three mins sleep on average, but believe they need six hours 40 mins to feel rested. Their sleep deficit is 40 minutes per night, adding up to a shortfall o...

The students and teachers of Rajshahi University are continuing their classes and examinations boycott programme  on Monday to protest the killing of Professor AKM Shafiul Islam of Sociology Department. Hundreds of teachers and students wore black badges and formed a human chain for half an hour at the gate of the RU senate building. Rajshahi University Teachers’ Association (RUTA) joint general secretary Moshihur Rahman announced the boycott programme for two more days on Sunday after an emergency meeting. Earlier, unidentified assailants hacked Shafiul Islam, a professor of the sociology department at RU, to death near the Bihas residential area when he was returning to his residence on motorbike.

The folding bicycle concept There are currently quite a number of manufacturers and startups developing folding bicycles, and it's an idea that makes a lot of sense: a bike that you can fold up and stow away under your desk means you don't have to look for an outside parking rack or worry about your cycle getting stolen while you're busy inside. It also means you can make journeys using multiple modes of transport more easily — car and bike, train and bike, and so on. Few folding bicycles are quite as compact as the Impossible bike though, which has just appeared on Kickstarter and can fit in a standard-sized backpack.

Stunning metro stations around the world      Stunning metro stations around the world The newly-opened Fulton Center transit hub in New York is getting rave reviews from subway riders. On November 10th, the station officially opened after a decade of work. Built at a cost of over US $1 billion, the station is already getting rave reviews from the public. Featuring a giant rooftop skylight and digital information screens, the transit hub has been called a ‘modern gem’. Click through to find other stunning metro stations from around the world.