BANGLADESH, MYANMAR AGREE TO BEGIN ROHINGYA REPATRIATION BY MIDNOV

DHAKA : Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on Tuesday to begin by November the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to escape a Myanmar army crackdown, though doubts about a speedy return are likely to persist. More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed from the west of mostly Buddhist Myanmar into Bangladesh from August last year after Rohingya insurgent attacks on the Myanmar security forces triggered a sweeping military response. “We are looking forward to start the repatriation by mid-november,” Bangladesh’s foreign secretary Shahidul Haque told reporters after a meeting with Myanmar delegation led by senior foreign ministry official Myint Thu. REUTERS

Bodies of two sisters found taped together in New York

NEW YORK: Police in New York searched on Tuesday for clues to what, or who, killed two sisters whose bodies were found duct-taped together on the banks of the Hudson River in Manhattan. The two young women, identified as Rotana Farea, 22, and her sister Tala, 16, were found on the banks of the Hudson last week with no visible signs of trauma, dressed all in black, with fur-trimmed coat collars, and bound together at the ankles and waist by duct tape. Media said they were of Saudi origin. AP

Israeli minister on Dubai visit calls for ‘peace’

DUBAI: Israel’s communications minister called for “peace and security” on Tuesday during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, as his country launches an unprecedented diplomatic push into Gulf states. “Peace and security in every state... with economic and scientific progress is what guarantees a future for the coming generations,” Ayoub Kara said in Dubai. Kara’s statement comes amid a diplomatic push by Israel in the mainly Sunni Gulf, which Israel sees as an ally against Shiite power Iran. It follows visits by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Oman.

Woman suicide bomber wounds 9 in Tunis: Ministry

TUNIS: A woman suicide bomber blew herself up Monday near police vehicles in the centre of the Tunisian capital, injuring at least nine people, the interior ministry said. Ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag told AFP that all but one of the casualties were police, after a strong explosion rocked the upmarket Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis. Ambulances arrived swiftly at the scene, which was cordoned off by security forces. Shops lowered their shutters as panic gripped passersby.

NASA probe Parker Solar reaches closest to Sun

TAMPA: NASA’S Parker Solar Probe, which launched earlier this year, has set a new record for becoming the closest humanmade object to the Sun, the US space agency has announced. “The spacecraft passed the current record of 42.73 million km from the Sun’s surface on October 29, 2018,” said a NASA statement on Monday. “The previous record for closest solar approach was set by the German-american Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976.” The $1.5 billion unmanned spacecraft launched in August, on a strategic mission to unveil the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.