News in Brief (29-03-2018)

Six to die for Thai family massacre

BANGKOK, Mar 28: Six men were sentenced to death on Wednesday for the massacre of a Thai village headman and seven members of his family, including three children, over a land dispute. The execution-style murders, which caused widespread public horror, saw the masked gunmen storm into the local leader's compound in the southern province of Krabi in July 2017 and take his family hostage with handcuffs and blindfolds. — AFP

Pak gunmen kill transgender duo

PESHAWAR, Mar 28: Police in Pakistan say gunmen riding on motorcycle shot and killed a transgender woman and her friend in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Police officer Mohammad Tahir says the two were targeted as they traveled in a rickshaw late Tuesday night, and that the motive for the killing is unknown. — AP

NASA pushes back giant space telescope launch to 2020

WASHINGTON, Mar 28: The launch of NASA's next giant space telescope has been delayed until at least May 2020, the US space agency said Tuesday, in the latest setback for the much-anticipated project. The James Webb Space Telescope-which NASA has long expected to replace the fabled Hubble-was initially meant to go into service this year but has faced multiple hitches. — AFP

Porn star's lawyer seeks deposition from Trump

WASHINGTON, Mar 28: A lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels requested in federal court to take deposition from President Donald Trump in a legal battle over an agreement to keep her quiet about an "intimate" relationship she says they had, according to court documents seen on Wednesday. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, also requested to take deposition from Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen, whom Daniels is suing for defamation, a motion filed in United States District Court in the Central District of California showed. Avenatti said in the motion that he would need no more than two hours to question each of the men. — Reuters