Seoul, Aug 12 (IANS) Former first lady Kim Keon Hee attended a court hearing Tuesday on her potential arrest over charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election meddling and bribe taking.The hearing was held at the Seoul Central District Court five days after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested a warrant to arrest Kim on charges of violations of the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.In the event the court is…

Baghdad, Aug 12 (IANS) Iraq and Iran signed a joint security agreement on security coordination along the shared borders between the two countries.The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani and Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji on Monday, according to a statement by the prime minister’s media office.The statement did not provide the details of the MoU, Xinhua news agency reported.In his meeting with Lari…

Cape Town, Aug 12 (IANS) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for gender equality to be part of all policies and decisions, with Women’s Month underway in the country. In his latest weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa urged women to take center stage in the upcoming National Dialogue process, set to be launched in Pretoria on Friday, stressing their central role in shaping the nation’s future, Xinhua news agency reported.The National Dialogue aims to bring together individuals a…

Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) The Madras High Court will on Tuesday hear a petition opposing the Greater Chennai Corporation’s decision to hand over sanitation work in two city zones to a private contractor — a move that has triggered intense protests from workers. On June 16, the Corporation awarded a Rs 276 crore cleaning services contract for Zones 5 and 6 to a private firm. The Workers’ Rights Movement, led by its president K. Bharathi, moved the High Court seeking to quash the resolution, arg…

Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) An eight-year-old boy from Assam was killed in a sloth bear attack at Waverly Estate in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Tamil Nadu’s Valparai, said officials on Tuesday. The attack happened on Monday night. This is the second fatal incident involving a child in the reserve in the past two months.The victim, identified as S. Noor Islam, was a Class 3 student living with relatives in the estate’s labour quarters while his parents remained in Assam.Forest department off…

Washington, Aug 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that he will try to get some territory back for Ukraine during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday Trump said, “Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”The US President also mentioned that his upcoming meeting with Putin in Alaska will be a “feel-out meeting.”Trum…

Tehran, Aug 12 (IANS) A senior official from the UN nuclear watchdog held talks in Tehran, marking the first high-level visit since Iran suspended its cooperation with the agency in June, state media reported.Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met with officials from Iran’s Foreign Ministry and nuclear authorities on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.The discussions centered on a “future framework for cooperation” following Tehran’s decisio…

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President and Union Minister JP Nadda will select the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election on Tuesday. The announcement was made following a high-level meeting of NDA leaders held in New Delhi on Thursday.The resolution to authorise PM Modi and Nadda was passed during the meeting, which was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Riji…

Houston, Aug 12 (IANS) A shooting at a Target store in Austin, the capital city of the US state of Texas, left three people dead, authorities said.Austin police said in a social media post that the suspect had been detained.The shooting happened just on Monday around 2 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), said the police.Officials received a call about shots fired at the target location on Research Boulevard at 2:15 p.m.When Austin police arrived, three people had sustained gunshot wounds, officials said…

Washington, Aug 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said at a White House press conference that he is deploying the National Guard to assist in restoring law and order and public safety in Washington. Trump also stated that he has formally invoked the Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control, Xinhua news agency reported.”This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.Trump noted that his administration surged 500 …