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

I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?

Birbal was jester, counsellor, and fool to the great Moghul emperor, Akbar.
The villagers loved to talk of Birbal's wisdom and cleverness,
and the emperor loved to try to outsmart him.
One day Akbar (emperor) drew a line across the floor.
"Birbal," he ordered, "you must make this line shorter, but you cannot erase any bit of it."
Everyone present thought the emperor had finally outsmarted Birbal.
It was clearly an impossible task.
Yet within moments the emperor and everyone else present had to agree that Birbal had made the line shorter without erasing any of it.
How could this be?

The horse jumps over the king.
Strangely there is absolutely no scratch on him.

Can anyone explain, how is this possible?

James bond was pushed out of an aeroplane without any parachute.
He survived, How come?

Which country gets ill every time?

My location can be determined by the below rebus.
So where am i ?

There is a certain crime, that if it is attempted, is punishable, but if it is committed, is not punishable. What is the crime?

A couple went on a climbing trip. But only the husband returned from the vacation and said that his wife slipped off while climbing and died. On investigating, the local sheriff arrested him saying, 'Your travel agent called. You murdered your wife.'

The man did not inform anyone about the trip. Then how was the agent so sure that it was a murder?

Can you find the missing letter in the sequence?
S - T - I - L - ? - T - F - Y - C