All about India's GST, Syria's Idlib, Trump-Syria assassinating controversy

The Syrian military shelled the last stronghold of active rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday as a war monitor said insurgents blew up another bridge in anticipation of a government offensive.

India's tax effect: Hundreds of thousands laid off despite growth

Tilak Raj Bathla's tiny weaving factory is one of the few still humming on a once-busy road in the northern Indian city of Panipat, known as the country's "textile city". Nearby, more than two dozen other workshops are locked from the outside, while dogs and cows roam through other abandoned factories. Scrap dealers enquire about idle power looms.

Shells hit Syria's Idlib as rebels brace for an assault

The Syrian military shelled the last stronghold of active rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday as a war monitor said insurgents blew up another bridge in anticipation of a government offensive. Damascus, backed by allies Russia and Iran, has been preparing an assault to recover Idlib and adjacent areas of the northwest and resumed air strikes along with Russia on Tuesday after weeks of a lull.

Trump says he did not discuss assassinating Syria's Assad

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he did not discuss assassinating Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, disputing an account in a forthcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward. Trump, speaking to reporters during a visit with Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, said a possible assassination was "never even discussed."

Israel closing embassy in Paraguay in response to the return of mission to Tel Aviv

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay on Wednesday, hours after the Latin American nation's new government announced it would move its embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. Paraguay's decision was a blow to Israel's efforts to achieve external recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, which appeared to have gained some traction this year with the United States, Guatemala, and Paraguay opening embassies there. Most countries do not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city and say its final status should be set in peace talks.

Bad weather caused Aeromexico crash in July, investigators say

An Aeromexico plane crash in July that injured dozens of people in northern Mexico was likely caused by bad weather, authorities investigating the accident said on Wednesday. Jose Armando Constantino, the director of analysis of accidents and incidents for Mexico's civil aviation agency, said there was no evidence of human error or mechanical failures.

The U.S. warns of regional crisis if Nicaragua unrest goes on

The United States on Wednesday called on Nicaragua to release all detained students and political prisoners, declaring the country's five months of civil unrest a threat to the region's security. More than 300 people have been killed and 2,000 injured in crackdowns by Nicaraguan police and armed groups in protests that began in April over an abortive plan by leftist President Daniel Ortega's government to reduce welfare benefits.

Trump not concerned with meeting Rouhani, says Iran in 'turmoil'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he remained open to the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran but said Iran was in turmoil and struggling to survive. "Iran is in turmoil right now. They're in total turmoil," Trump told reporters before a meeting with Kuwait's emir, without offering any evidence.

UK names two Russians for the attempted murder of Skripals

British prosecutors said on Wednesday they have sufficient evidence to charge two Russian nationals with conspiracy to murder former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England in March. A European arrest warrant has been issued for the two Russians who were named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, the prosecutors said.

Japanese homes engulfed in a landslide after powerful quake hits Hokkaido

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.7 on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido caused a landslide that engulfed houses early on Thursday, injuring and trapping a number of people and cutting power in several areas. A landslide along a long ridge in the rural town of Atsumi could be seen in aerial footage from public broadcaster NHK. Some 10 people had been taken to hospital with injuries, one of them seriously, it said.

Brazil's far-right candidate Bolsonaro leads in election poll: Ibope

Brazil's far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro holds a strong lead in the race for October's presidential election, taking 22 percent in a new survey on Wednesday by pollster Ibope, the first poll taken since a court ruled jailed leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could not run. Environmentalist Marina Silva and leftist Ciro Gomes were tied in second with 12 percent in the Ibope poll that was released by the Globo TV network, while the business-friendly candidate Geraldo Alckmin had 9 percent and Workers Party candidate Fernando Haddad, who is likely to take Lula's place atop the Workers Party ticket, registered 6 percent.

(With inputs from Reuters)