International

A US judge on Wednesday released a suicide note purportedly written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein weeks before his death in a New York jailhouse. Epstein’s cellmate has said that he found the letter in a book following a failed suicide attempt by the disgraced financier, several weeks before his eventual August 2019 death. “They investigated me for months ...

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believed there was “a very good chance” of sealing a peace deal with Iran, but threatened to resume his bombardment of the country if negotiations fell apart. Despite the US leader’s optimism, Iran has yet to respond to a new US proposal, with its chief negotiator warning that Washington was seeking to force ...

The personal assistant (PA) of West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has been shot dead in Madhyamgram, two days after the party’s historic win in the assembly election. The BJP leader’s PA, identified as Chandranath Rath, was shot twice in the assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district near Kolkata, the police said. Another man, Buddhadeb, who was with Rath ...

At least eight people died and 36 were hurt after a fire broke out in a shopping centre west of Tehran on Tuesday, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported. The local fire department said the cladding of the building was flammable and this contributed to a rapid spread of flames, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported. Iranian media, including Mizan, showed ...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed a “record” victory on Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state after official trends and partial results showed a thumping majority for his Hindu nationalist party. Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections ...

Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the US Navy to free up shipping provoked the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago. Trump’s new mission “Project Freedom”, which he announced on social media overnight to release ships ...

Vote counting in key Indian state elections was underway Monday under tight security, with the focus on West Bengal, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party appeared set for victory. And in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, veteran politician MK Stalin was trailing, challenged by a political debutante — film star C. Joseph Vijay. Elections in five states and territories ...

Under hazy spring sunshine on Saturday, hundreds of young Seoulites turned up at a park by the Han River at the invitation of the city government to try to do something many overworked South Koreans never get enough of – sleep. The Seoul Metropolitan Government staged its third annual spring event, dubbed a power nap contest, from 3 p.m. (0600 ...

Iran executed two men on Saturday accused of spying for Israel, including one accused of gathering intelligence near the Natanz nuclear site in central Isfahan province, Iranian media reported. They quoted the judiciary as saying Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were hanged after being found guilty of intelligence cooperation with Israel and its spy agency, Mossad. They said Karimpour passed ...

Kolkata witnessed rival protests by the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late into Thursday night over allegations of tampering with voting machines kept in ‘strongrooms’ following the completion of polling in West Bengal. The Election Commission rejected the allegations, saying there had been no tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) or ballot boxes stored in secure facilities. ...