SRINAGAR, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indian authorities have detained hundreds of separatist leaders and Muslim activists in an escalating crackdown in disputed Kashmir with the region remaining on high alert following a suicide bomb attack. Police said about 400 arrests had been made over the weekend in late-night raids aimed at…

MANILA, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Murad Ebrahim’s life as the Philippines’ top Muslim rebel led him into fierce jungle combat and to meet with Osama bin Laden, but a very different challenge now awaits him: Governing. Murad has been tapped to lead the majority-Catholic nation’s brand new territory in the…

MELBOURNE, Feb 25 (NNN-CNA) — A Malaysian man has been sentenced to five years in jail for smuggling more than 6 million cigarettes into Australia. The Australia Border Force (ABF) said in a news release that the cigarettes, concealed within “sophisticated cover loads”, originated from Malaysia and the total duty evaded…

SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (NNN-CNA) — Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan is on extended medical leave after fracturing his arm, the Prime Minister Office’s said in a statement. Khaw injured his left arm in a fall last week and is currently warded at a…

BEIJING, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’sarmoured train chugged across China on Sunday as he headed to his highlyanticipated second summit with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam. Emulating his late father and grandfather, who took epic train trips whenthey were leaders, Kim set off on…

KABUL, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The US and the Taliban are meeting inQatar for fresh talks Monday seeking an end to 17 years of grinding conflictin Afghanistan, with the stakes ratcheting higher as the spring fightingseason approaches. Marathon talks held in Doha last month have stoked hopes of a breakthrough…

KABUL, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – More civilians were killed in the Afghanwar in 2018 than during any other year on record after nearly two decades of fighting, according to a UN report. Civilian deaths jumped by 11 percent from 2017 with 3,804 people killed and another 7,189 wounded, according to…

GUWAHATI (India), Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – At least 35 more workers have died in northeastern India after drinking toxic liquor, police said Sunday, taking the death toll from the latest mass alcohol poisoning beyond 130. The deaths in Assam state came less than two weeks after tainted liquorkilled about 100…