An Afghan official says insurgents have attacked a checkpoint in the western Herat province, killing at least nine Afghan security forces and wounding another six. Gelani Farhad, the provincial governor’s spokesman, says the attack late Saturday ignited a gunbattle in which around 10 insurgents were killed and five wounded. He says the attack was likely carried out by the Taliban, ...

Beijing, Sep 9 : China’s trade surplus with the United States widened to a record $31 billion in August as exports surged despite American tariff hikes, potentially adding fuel to President Donald Trump’s battle with Beijing over industrial policy. Exports to the United States rose 13.4 percent to $44.4 billion, ticking up from July’s 13.3 percent growth, according to customs ...

The death toll from a powerful quake that triggered landslides in northern Japan rose to 35 Saturday, as tens of thousands of rescue workers raked through the mud for survivors. The majority of the dead are from the small rural town of Atsuma, where a cluster of dwellings were wrecked when a hillside collapsed from the force of the 6.6-magnitude ...

 The UK and France have failed to agree a deal to end a dispute over scallop fishing in the English Channel. Crews clashed in the waters last month over laws that allow British boats to gather scallops year-round, but places restrictions on French vessels.   The two sides had agreed on the principles of a deal earlier this week, but ...

A helicopter with seven people on board is reported missing in Nepal’s mountainous region. Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu says rescue helicopters are scouring the areas Saturday while soldiers and police rescuers are searching the mountains on foot.   The area is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Kathmandu.   The Airbus manufactured Ecureuil helicopter belongs to ...

One of China’s richest men, Jack Ma, is to step down as executive chairman of the Alibaba e-commerce empire on Monday, the New York Times reported. He will remain on Alibaba’s board of directors but focus on philanthropy in education, the newspaper said.   Mr Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has seen it become one of the world’s biggest ...

Collected photo of the deceased Two trekkers have died after a group of them fell into a crevice at Kolahoi Glacier near Dhanwet, about 25-kms from Aru Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday (September 7). Officials say at least 10 trekkers were returning from Kolahoi Glacier when three of them fell into a crevasse at Dhanvet. Those killed ...

The death toll from a powerful quake that triggered landslides in northern Japan rose to 30 Saturday, as tens of thousands of rescue workers raked through the mud for survivors. The majority of the dead are from the small rural town of Atsuma, where a cluster of dwellings were wrecked when a hillside collapsed from the force of the 6.6-magnitude ...

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit Mojiang Hani Autonomous County in southwest China’s Yunnan Province at 10:31 a.m. Saturday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter, with a depth of 11 km, was monitored at 23.28 degrees north latitude and 101.53 degrees east longitude, the center said in a statement.

Russian war planes have launched fresh strikes on the Syrian province of Idlib, a monitor says, as talks in Tehran failed to stop an impending military offensive there. The raids targeted rebel-held positions in Idlib’s south-west, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.   Syrian forces, backed by Russia and Iran, are poised to attack the last major rebel stronghold ...