AFP, MUMBAI: Thirteen students drowned on Monday after they went swimming off a beach on India’s west coast, police said. The tragedy happened at Murud beach, around 140 kilometres (90 miles) south of Mumbai, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra state, said assistant inspector of police Arvind…

AFP, GENEVA: The UN human rights chief said on Monday those committing crimes against humanity in Syria’s brutal war should not be let off under any deal, as peace talks struggled in Geneva. “We do have a principled position in the United Nations that no amnesties should be considered for…

AFP, LONDON: A mother who took her toddler to Syria and joined the Islamic State (IS) group was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday after becoming the first British woman to be convicted after returning home.Tareena Shakil, 26, was found guilty by a court in Birmingham, central England of IS…

AFP, KABUL: A Taliban suicide bomber struck a police base in central Kabul Monday, killing at least nine people just days before a fresh round of international talks aimed at reviving dialogue with the Islamist group. Scores of people were also wounded in the bombing at the entrance of the base, which…

AFP, LONDON: Britain on Monday granted its first licence to genetically modify human embryos for research into infertility and why miscarriages happen,…

AFP, TOKYO: A Japanese firm said Monday it would open the world’s first fully automated farm with robots handling almost every step of the process, from watering seedlings to harvesting crops. Kyoto-based Spread said the indoor grow house will start operating by the middle of 2017 and produce…