I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

Today is a very icy and cold morning in Newcastle. Mr Shearer, an office bus driver arrived to pick up the employees from the last stop. Shearer suddenly remembers that he needs to pick a newly joined 4miles to the north. Mr Shearer lost his direction compass, a few minutes later Shearer is able to figure that he is moving in the correct direction i.e. north. How did Shearer know that he is moving in the correct direction?

I am a five-letter word under you,
Remove the first letter and I am above you,
Remove the second as well and I am around you.

Who am I?

With pointed fangs I sit and wait; with piercing force I crunch out fate; grabbing victims, proclaiming might; physically joining with a single bite. What am I?

You want to boil a two-minute egg. If you only have a three-minute timer (hourglass), a four-minute timer and a five-minute timer, how can you boil the egg for only two minutes?

Keyboard words are not in alphabetical order, Why?

When a clock is observed, the hour hand is at a minute mark and the minutes hand is six minutes ahead of it.

When the clock is observed again after some time, the hour hand is precisely on a different minute mark and the minute hand is seven minutes ahead of it.

Can you calculate how much time has elapsed between the two observations?

I have nine bottles of wine and one of the nine bottles is poisoned.
I need to find the poisoned bottle with two facts
(1) Poison is deadly, only a sip will cost death
(2) I have two mice to do so.

How should I do it?

Eight of us go fourth, not back, to protect our king from an attack. What are we?

How old is your son? asked a man to his neighbour. My son is five times as old as my daughter and my wife is five times as old as my son. I am twice as old as my wife whereas my grandmother, who is celebrating her eighty-first birthday is as old as all of us put together.

How old is the man's son ?