Mumbai / AFP India’s Tata Consultancy Services reported an 8.8 percent year-on-year rise in quarterly profits on Thursday as strong growth in Europe helped the IT giant override a slump in its domestic market. The firm, based in India’s financial capital Mumbai, said net profit for the three months to September 30 rose to 65.86 billion rupees ($984 million) ...

  SEOUL/ AP Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it has expanded its recall of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the US to include all replacement devices the company offered as a presumed safe alternative after the original Note 7s were found prone to catch fire. The move announced on the websites of Samsung and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on ...

  Taipei / AP Apple’s new iPhone 7 series gave Taiwan microchip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) a boost Thursday as the firm announced profits were up by almost a third compared with last year. The company was also set to benefit from the demise of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, analysts said, after the South Korean smartphone giant had ...

Bangkok / AFP Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-serving monarch, has died at the age of 88, the palace announced on Thursday, leaving a divided nation bereft of a rare figure of unity. “Although the team of doctors treated him to the best of their ability, his condition deteriorated,” the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement. “At 15:52 ...

  Washington / AFP The Washington Post on Thursday became the latest US newspaper to emphatically endorse Hillary Clinton for the White House, saying it was swayed as much by her competence as by the alarming specter of a Donald Trump presidency. “Hillary Clinton has the potential to be an excellent president of the United States, and we endorse her ...

  London / AFP The battle over Brexit reached the High Court on Thursday in a legal challenge to Prime Minister Theresa May’s right to start negotiations for Britain to leave the EU without a vote in parliament. The move could delay Brexit if successful and set up an unprecedented constitutional face-off between the courts and the government. It was ...

  The Hague / AFP The Dutch government is mulling a new law to give elderly people who are not sick the legal right to assisted suicide if they feel their lives are “complete”. “People who believe after deep reflection that they have completed their lives, should be able under strict conditions to end their lives in the dignified manner ...

  Glasgow / AFP Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday unveiled plans for a new independence referendum in case her demands for more autonomy and for Scotland to stay in Europe’s single market are not met. Sturgeon said she would publish a draft referendum bill next week, accusing the British government of pushing for a “hard Brexit” and stirring ...

  Dubai / AP The US military directly targeted Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the first time on Thursday, hitting radar sites controlled by the insurgents after US warships came under missile attacks twice in four days. The Iran-backed rebels have denied carrying out the attacks, which saw missiles fired at US warships in the Red Sea on Sunday and Wednesday ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN General Assembly on Thursday formally appointed Antonio Guterres as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon. The 193 member states adopted by acclamation a resolution appointing the former prime minister of Portugal for a five-year term beginning January 1. The former prime minister of Portugal who also served as UN refugee ...