Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi tonight held separate meetings with leaders of All Bodo Students Union and Bodo National Conference and discussed their issues and demands.        

To their request for arranging a meeting with the Centre, Gogoi assured them that he would make all efforts towards to that end, said official sources.         Gogoi told ABSU and BNC that he would be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi on August 11 and would request him to meet them.        

ABSU was represented by its vice-president Jibon Basumatary and general secretary Romeo P Narzary while BNC delegation included its chief convener Kampha Borgiary, convenors Anjali Daimary and Biseswar Basumatary.

M I Khan reports from Patna: The bodies of the four soldiers of Bihar regiment, who were killed after "heavily armed terrorists' ambushed an Indian army patrol along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, arrived in Patna on Wednesday night. Their funeral will take place at their respective villages on Thursday, a police official said.

A large number of security forces and jawans of Bihar regiment along with hundreds of people gathered at the Patna airport and paid salute to the martyrs.

Five soldiers were killed when the attackers, including men in Pakistani military uniform, barged into Indian territory and ambushed an army patrol at Chakan-da-Bagh sector of the Line of Control on Tuesday. The condition of another soldier, who was injured in the ambush, is slated to be critical.

The martyrs from Bihar have been identified as Sambhusaran Rai, who belonged to Ara in Bhojpur district, Vijay Kumar Rai from Bihta in Patna district, and Prem Nath and Raghunandan Prasad from Saran district.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a state funeral for all the slain four soldiers of the 21 Bihar Regiment, along with a compensation of Rs10 lakhs for their families.

The revelation that al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been communicating directly with the group's Yemeni franchise about future operations is causing plenty of consternation among western counter-terrorism officials.

It suggests a heightened level of co-ordination between al Qaeda 'central' and its branches, and an initiative by Zawahiri to leverage instability in places far away from his hideout '" thought to be somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

There are still few confirmed specifics about the nature of the plot that Zawahiri was supposedly discussing with Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

But he has clearly identified that group as an effective affiliate, possibly the one best placed to attack U.S. interests directly. U.S. officials were concerned that a plot was timed to go into operation to coincide with the end of Ramadan, which has often been a period of increased terrorist activity. The Muslim holy month ends on Wednesday.

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Federal authorities investigating the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi have filed charges against Ahmed Abu Khattalah, leader of a Libyan militia that officials believe was involved in the assault, people briefed on the investigation said.

The charges under seal are the first criminal counts to emerge from the probe. The investigation of the attack last September 11 that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others continues, these people said, as investigators try to build their case against Khattalah and others who authorities believe were involved. Attorney General Eric Holder had earlier this year promised congressional lawmakers the Justice Department would soon make public what actions it would take.

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Former US president George W Bush underwent successful surgery at a Dallas hospital on Tuesday to place a stent in a blocked heart artery, a spokesman said. Bush, 67, was "in high spirits, eager to return home tomorrow and resume his normal schedule on Thursday", spokesman Freddy Ford said in a statement.

Doctors discovered the blockage on Monday during Bush's annual physical exam at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, the statement said. Doctors recommended a stent to open the blockage and he underwent surgery on Tuesday morning at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the statement said.

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Al Jazeera: Multiple car bombs targeting markets and shopping streets in Baghdad have killed at least 27 people, an interior ministry source said. Another 78 people were wounded in the six bombings on Tuesday.

Four separate car bombs went off in eastern and southern districts of the capital in quick succession. Two more car bombs exploded in markets of Husseiniya and Shaab neighourhoods in the north of the city. Most of the attacks were in Shia neighbourhoods.

Two US senators have met Egypt's army chief and urged the country's divided political factions to renounce violence and agree to a national dialogue. Lindsey Graham and John McCain, both Republican senators, travelled to Cairo at the request of US President Barack Obama.

At a press conference on Tuesday night, the two asked Egypt's interim government to set forth a "clear timetable" for holding new elections and finalising a new constitution.

Read the full report on Al Jazeera

Four bomb blasts rocked Karachi on Tuesday night but no loss of life was reported due to the low intensity of the explosions.

The remote-controlled blasts took place in desolate areas and outside closed shops in the Defence Rahat, Seaview and Kamal areas and near Moti Mahal in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area outside wine shops all closed due to Ramzan.        

Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir said that the purpose of the blasts appeared to be either to cause panic and fear in the city because of the heavy rush of shoppers in the markets ahead of Eid festival or the work of extortionists.         Besides terrorism and sectarian violence, Karachi has also been badly hit by criminals who target businessmen and traders for extortion money.

Nearly a year later, Benghazi remains a flashpoint in Washington for two very different reasons: indefensible pre-attack policy decisions and irresistible post-attack politics.

The Obama White House, from the president on down, complains of "phony" Republican-led congressional investigations. Yet the administration's own reluctant, and at times inaccurate, responses to congressional inquiries have contributed to the GOP charge that the administration, at a minimum, has been less than transparent.

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