Attack on embassy vehicle: 2 killed in Kabul

Kabul: A Taliban suicide attack targeting a Turkish diplomatic vehicle killed two persons in Kabul on Thursday, highlighting the fragile security situation as the Afghan government presses for peace talks with the militants. The blast came shortly after 8 am, not far from the Iranian embassy. The police said the dead included a Turkish national and an Afghan passer-by. AFP

Pak court declares Qadri as proclaimed offender
Lahore: Canada-based anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, his sons and two others of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik were on Thursday declared "proclaimed offenders" by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for not appearing in a case of arson and vandalism here despite court summons against them. PTI

French PM slams MPs for meeting 'butcher' Assad
Paris: France's PM Manuel Valls on Thursday said he "condemned with the greatest strength" a decision by three French lawmakers to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom he described as "a butcher". A cross-party group of four French lawmakers made an unofficial trip to the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday and held talks with senior ministers. AFP

Thai junta chief may testify on 2010 crackdown
Bangkok: Thailand's junta chief on Thursday said that he was willing to provide testimony about his involvement in a deadly 2010 military crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bangkok that left more than 90 dead. Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who seized power last May, is often described as the architect of the crackdown which ended months of street protests by “Red Shirt” supporters loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. AFP

Medicare fraud: Indian American therapist convicted
Washington: A Indian-American physical therapist (30) along with a patient recruiter has been convicted in a $1.6 million medicare fraud, federal prosecutors said. Rajan Patel of Clinton Township in Michigan has been found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, three counts of healthcare fraud, and three counts of making false statements. PTI

HISD mulls Texas's Hindi language school
Houston: One of the largest public school system in the US is planning to introduce Texas’s first Hindi dual language school, a move that could benefit the country's Indian-American population. With over 200,000 students and 276 schools, Houston Independent School District (HISD) will partner with the Consulate General of India for it. PTI

Reuters' Pak bureau chief had 3 marks on neck
Islamabad: Reuters' Pakistan bureau chief Maria Golovnina found dead on Monday here had three marks on her neck and died due to blockage in her respiratory tract, an initial autopsy report said on Thursday, deepening the mystery. The 34-year-old Russian national was Reuters' bureau chief for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. PTI

Indian teacher forced to quit over Modi caricature
Doha: A woman teacher at a prominent Indian school here was forced to resign after she posted a derogatory caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her Facebook account, a media report said on Thursday. The teacher, who was not identified, said the caricature was circulating on social media and she had just picked, shared and posted it on her Facebook account. PTI

Secret Agent Deep Singh: World's new superhero!
Washington: Meet the world's newest crime-fighter, a Sikh superhero who sports a beard and turban and battles against evils like the Taliban. You can meet Secret Agent Deep Singh in the first issue of “Super Sikh”, due out in March in the US. Singh may not look like your typical comic book hero, but he fights for all the same things: justice, equality, and good in the battle against evil. PTI