03 Feb 2019; DW: A police bomb squad was called to the Calbee snacks factory in eastern Hong Kong after staff there found a hand grenade from the First World War inside a crate of French potatoes, police said.

Officers moved cars and piled sandbags around the 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) device before safely destroying it.

"The grenade was in an unstable condition because it has been previously discharged but failed to detonate," Superintendent Wilfred Wong Ho-hon told reporters.

Washington, Feb 2; PTI: The Indian embassy in the US has opened a 24/7 hotline to assist 129 Indian students arrested by the American authorities in the "pay-and-stay" university visa scam, officials have said.

As many as 129 Indians are among the 130 foreign students arrested for enroling at a fake university allegedly to remain in the US.

The university in Detroit's Farmington Hills was part of an undercover operation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designed to expose immigration fraud, according to federal prosecutors who announced charges in the case.

03 Feb 2019; DW: Philippine troops battled militants in a series of intense jungle clashes on Saturday after a bombing at a cathedral killed 22 people last weekend. The military said that five soldiers and three extremists were killed in the fighting.

The Interior Ministry has said that the man and woman who carried out the bombing were Indonesian nationals. The government of Indonesia has said that it can not yet confirm this report.

KANPUR: It was the first time in the history of Kanpur University that its undergraduate and post-graduate examinations are going to be held prior to the general elections. The examinations will begin in the month of February.

The university's exam schedule has already been announced. Starting from Feb 26 the exams will conclude on April 12. The examination dates: BA (1st yr), BA (2nd yr) BA (3rd yr) from Feb 26, B.Sc. from Mar 9 and B.Com from Mar 16. M.A. from Mar 27 and M.Com from Mar 30. 

Muzaffarnagar, Feb 3 (PTI) A 27-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a youth on the false promise of marriage, police said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the woman on Saturday, case was registered against the youth, Nitin Kumar, under relevant sections of the IPC.

Efforts were underway to nab him, police added.

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) A POCSO court sentenced a man to 20 years imprisonment on Saturday for raping his minor neighbour in Dharavi area here.

The accused, Kisan Damodar (53), was found guilty under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by additional Session Judge S J Gharat.

Washington, Feb 2 (PTI) President Donald Trump has said US' massive trade deficit with China cannot be allowed to continue, a day after the officials from both countries concluded their latest round of negotiations on trade issues.

The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade spat since early 2018, raising import tariffs on each other's goods.

Last year, Trump imposed tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on USD 250 billion of Chinese goods. The move prompted China to increase tariffs on USD 110 billion of American goods.

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia will suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in a mirror response to the decision of the United States.

"We will do as follows. We will come up with a tit-for-tat response. American partners have announced suspension of their participation in the treaty, and we will suspend," Putin said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — An aide to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says has he been shifted from his prison cell to a government hospital in the eastern city of Lahore.

Senator Asif Kirmani says Sharif was taken from his cell in Kot Lakhpat prison on Saturday to the Services Hospital following the recommendation of a government-appointed team of doctors.

Kirmani says Sharif was diagnosed with heart-related issues which could be life threatening.

PARIS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- France regretted United States move to leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, asking Russia to use the six-month window to keep talks on nuclear arms pact and come into compliance with the agreement, the country's Foreign Ministry said in a press release issued late on Friday.

"France regrets to arrive at a situation in which the United States had to notify its withdrawal from the INF Treaty," the ministry said, reiterating Paris "commitment to arms control instruments, which help to ensure strategic stability."

TEHRAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran unveiled an indigenous long-range cruise missile on Saturday, Tasnim news agency reported.

The missile, Hoveizeh, was displayed at a ceremony in the capital Tehran, which was attended by Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

Manufactured by Iranian Defense Ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization, the missile is ready to be delivered to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force.

With a range of 1,350 km, Hoveizeh cruises at low altitudes and is used for ground targets.

Islamabad, Feb 2 (PTI) China will provide USD 2.5 billion in loans to Pakistan to boost the foreign exchange reserves of its "all-weather ally", a media report said Saturday.

Pakistan is nearly broke with the drying up of foreign cash reserves and mounting external debt.

The country's USD 8.12 billion reserves, which are below the minimum level that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) prescribe, are sufficient to cover only seven weeks of imports.