International

An Afghan official said the Taliban killed eight police in an attack on their post in the provincial capital of the northern Baghlan province. Safdar Mooseni, the head of the provincial council, says police battled the insurgents for four hours before reinforcements arrived and repulsed the Taliban onslaught, which also wounded two police. The Taliban claimed the attack. Afghanistan’s beleaguered …

One of the leaders of the “yellow vest” anti-government demonstrations was detained by police in Paris late on Wednesday for organising an unauthorised protest, signalling a harder line by the authorities against the movement. Eric Drouet — who already faces a trial for carrying a weapon at a previous protest — was held while heading for the Champs-Elysees, which has been the …

Saudi Arabia’s attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday. All 11 accused were present with their lawyers at the opening hearing in the capital, according to a statement by the attorney general carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The …

Clashes erupted between Hindu hardliners and police in the southern state of Kerala for a second day Thursday, after two women defied traditionalists to enter one of India’s holiest temples. Violence across Kerala on Wednesday left one person dead and 15 injured after news spread that the two women, escorted by police and dressed in black, had sneaked into the Sabarimala temple …

Bringing laurels to his nation, an Indian-origin Singaporean boy has won two gold medals at the Memory Championship  was held in Hong Kong. Dhruv Manoj won prizes in the ‘names and faces’ and ‘random words’ categories defeating 56 fellow contestants in the competition. He has an incredible ability to commit to memory more than seven decks of shuffled cards in …

 Pakistani American woman Rabeea Collier has become  judge of the 113th District Court in Harris Country in US state of Taxas. Rabeea Collier, a Democrat,  has practiced law for 12 years. She  is married to Robert Collier, an attorney. They have two sons and live in North Houston.  She has served as a board member of the Harris County Democratic …

COPENHAGEN: Six people were killed Wednesday and an unspecified number were injured in a train accident on a bridge connecting two islands in Denmark, rail operator DSB said. “We can confirm that six people are dead,” a duty officer told AFP, as media reports said the roof of a cargo train blew off in heavy winds and hit a passenger …

BRASILIA: Right-wing nationalist Jair Bolsonaro, who has vowed to crack down on political corruption, violent crime and ignite a moribund economy with deregulation and fiscal discipline, was sworn in as Brazil’s president on Tuesday. The former Army captain and seven-term fringe congressman rode a wave of anti-establishment anger to became Brazil’s first far-right president since a military dictatorship gave way …

BERLIN: A man injured four people in Germany after driving into a group celebrating the New Year, in what police described on Tuesday as an anti-migrant attack. “The authorities think that this is a targeted attack, motivated by the driver’s hostility to foreigners,” said the Essen prosecutors office and Muenster police. They also said they thought the 50-year-old suspect has …

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s first tweet of 2019 is a happy New Year message for all, unlike 2018 when he targeted Pakistan in his first tweet. But even his New Year message was not free of derision and mockery that Mr Trump often uses in his tweets. “Happy New Year to everyone, including the haters and the fake news media,” he …