At least 18 die in 'rat-hole' mine blast in India
At least 18 miners have died and one is severely injured after an explosion at an illegally-operated coal mine in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya, police say, BBC reported.
Rescue operations are on and some people are still feared trapped, police say, adding that the blast occurred around 11:00 local time (5:30 GMT) on Thursday in the East Jaintia Hills of the state.
Superintendent of the state police Vikash Kumar told reporters that the accident happened due to rat-hole mining - a hazardous method which involves the use of dynamite to break open narrow tunnels through which workers crouch to extract coal, according to BBC.
Trump administration names 33 new immigration judges, most with military backgrounds
The Justice Department has hired 33 new immigration judges, including 27 temporary ones, after firing or pushing out more than 100 others as the Trump administration seeks out new recruits to serve as what it dubs "deportation judges."
The Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review said the new immigration judges were sworn in on Thursday, following the October hiring of 36 immigration judges, including 25 temporary ones, after months of workforce cuts, Reuters reported.
The new judges will serve in immigration courts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners as peace talks end without breakthrough
Ukraine and Russia have conducted a rare exchange of prisoners of war and civilians after two days of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi, BBC reported.
A total of 157 Ukrainians - seven of them civilians - and 157 Russian soldiers were returned home in the first such swap in four months.
Russian, Ukrainian and US teams took part in the talks in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, with the main sticking points believed to be territorial concessions Ukraine is under pressure to make and security guarantees for it to prevent further Russian attacks if a deal is agreed to end the four-year war, according to BBC.
Starmer apologises to Epstein victims for believing Mandelson's 'lies'
Sir Keir Starmer has apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein for believing Lord Mandelson's "lies" and appointing him as the UK's ambassador to the US, BBC reported.
The prime minister began a planned speech on funding to improve local communities by addressing the growing anger over how he had dealt with the issue.
While he acknowledged it had been publicly known for some time that Lord Mandelson knew Epstein, he said: "None of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship."
