Tijuana (Mexico), Jan 2; AFP: A group of 150 migrants from Mexico tried crossing over to the US. The US Border Patrol used tear gas and pepper spray to counter them as they threw rocks while trying to get into the country. This led to 25 arrests.

It is the second time since November that border officers have used tear gas during an attempted mass migrant crossing in the San Diego area. At least three volleys of gas were launched onto the Mexican side of the border near Tijuana's beach.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The government Wednesday approved the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda (BoB) to make it a globally competitive lender.

With the merger, BoB will become the third largest bank after State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.

"There will be no impact on the service conditions of the employees and there will be no retrenchment following the merger," Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters about decisions taken by the Union Cabinet.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The Train 18 will run from Delhi to Varanasi, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed on Wednesday, saying the run-time would be eight hours, about "one-and-a-half-times" faster than the fastest train on the route.

While the railways had been saying that it had proposed two routes for the train, Delhi to Bhopal and Delhi to Varanasi, this is the first time that the route has been officially confirmed.

Raipur, Jan 2 (PTI) In a sudden move, the newly-elected Congress government in Chhattisgarh replaced the state's chief secretary, Ajay Singh, with Sunil Kujur, a 1986-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, on Wednesday night.

According to an order issued by the government, Singh, a 1983-batch IAS officer who was appointed as the chief secretary in January 2018, has been made the chairman of the Revenue Board, Bilaspur.

LISBON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's public debt rose by 400 million euros in November last year, compared to the previous month, reaching a new record of 251.48 billion euros, according to the data released by the Bank of Portugal on Wednesday.

The Portugal's central bank said that loans and debt emissions essentially contributed to the increase in the month.

Barmer, Jan 2 (PTI) Shale Mohammad, the only Muslim face in Ashok Gehlot's cabinet, offered prayers at a Shiva temple in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer days after taking charge of the minority affairs department.

Mohammad, son of Muslim religious leader Gazi Fakir, reached his constituency Pokhran in Jaisalmer on Sunday for the first time after becoming a minister.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed high drama after Congress president Rahul Gandhi sought permission to play a purported audio tape of a Goa minister on the Rafale deal but refused to authenticate it, prompting Union Minister Arun Jaitley to accuse him of speaking "lies repeatedly".

Initiating a discussion on the Rafale issue, Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he "does not have guts" to come to Parliament to confront questions on the issue and "hides" in his room.

KANPUR: The Railways cared a fig for passengers’ thirst but it has been pondering over saving wastage of water in the washing of its racks daily. Now, automatic washing machines will solve the purpose only after the Railways Board approves the proposal.

As many as 4500 litres of water in the cleaning of three racks with 24 to 26 bogies are being used manually. It will take only 1500 litres of water if cleaned by automated machines.

02 Jan 2019; DW: A man has driven a car at groups of pedestrians in the cities of Bottrop and Essen, injuring eight, including foreign nationals. Police say there are signs that the driver is mentally ill and holds xenophobic views.

A man drove a car into pedestrians in two neighboring German cities overnight to New Year's Day, injuring five people in what police say could be attacks motivated by the xenophobic attitude of the driver.

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Wednesday stressed that achieving the country's greatness, national rejuvenation and cross-Strait reunification is the trend of history, which can never be blocked by anyone or any force.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of issuing Message to Compatriots in Taiwan.

01 Jan 2019; DW: The US secretary of state has reassured Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington still supports his country. Pompeo's comments reflect unease caused by Donald Trump's plans to withdraw US troops from Syria.

A decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Syria will not affect Washington's cooperation with Israel over Syria and in efforts to counter Iranian influence in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (top photo) said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- After a year of improvement, the U.S. economy may face challenges in 2019 as waning stimulus, less friendly monetary policy coupled with decelerating global growth are among the multiple risks for a slowdown, economists said.

"Real U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.7 percent is forecast for 2019, slowing in the second half of the year as the effects of fiscal stimulus begin to fade," analysts from Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch Global Research said in their 2019 outlook report released in December.