The Pakistani Taliban today welcomed the resignation of Lt Gen Haroon Aslam, who quit after he was superseded, with the banned group saying no talks would have been possible if he had been made the army chief. 

The majority of people migrating to Britain are now from China, displacing India as the topmost country of origin of migrants. 

Former Tehelka Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury was today provided with a security cover after a group of BJP workers led by Vijay Jolly allegedly heckled her and defaced the nameplate outside her residence.

On what kind of security was extended to Chaudhury, asenior Delhi Police official said, "The security apparatus cannot be revealed. She would be provided adequate security to prevent recurrence of such an event."

Chaudhury who had reached National Commission for Women (NCW) office in the afternoon to record her statement about her and Tehelka's response in dealing with alleged sexual assault case against its Editor Tarun Tejpal, filed a complaint with the commission regarding her house in Saket being vandalised allegedly by some BJP workers led by Jolly.

The report of the Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and the draft Telangana Bill is likely to be tabled before Union Cabinet next week with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde saying that a few loose ends are yet to be plugged.

After a series of meetings with various stake holders, the GoM is fine tuning the report and the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill with Shinde, Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh today closeting for an hour long meeting.

Shinde and Ramesh again huddled together with Home Secretary Anil Goswami and other senior home ministry officials looking into various aspects of the report and the draft Bill which are likely to be submitted to the Cabinet on December four, government sources said.

Sri Lanka, under global pressure over its human rights record, today launched a six-month census to count the number of casualties during the final phase of the brutal civil war against the LTTE in 2009.

Some 16,000 officials would gather information from 14,000 villages nationwide from today until December 20. "The government has nothing to hide.

A lot of people have come out with various accusations with their own figures. We will come out with real facts," P B Abeykoon, secretary to the ministry of public administration said.

Sri Lanka, since the end of the ethnic conflict four years ago, has faced accusations of ignoring international calls for accountability over alleged 40,000 civilian deaths.

Officials would be conducting a census on deaths and injuries and property damages during the island's 30-year civil war in which an estimated 100,000 people died.

NDTV reports: Shoma Chaudhury, who has resigned as the managing editor of Tehelka magazine, today met the National Commission of Women (NCW) and apologised for what the panel has called lapses in her handling of allegations that the publication's founder Tarun Tejpal sexually assaulted a young reporter in Goa earlier this month.

The NCW said it was not satisfied with her response to it. "There was inaction...You can't right a wrong. A complaint should have been sent to a complaint cell," the NCW's Shamina Shafiq said.

Tarun Tejpal's lawyer says he has sent a fax to the Goa police saying he will join the probe tomorrow. Earlier, Tejpal's lawyer had said his client would join the probe only on Saturday, after the anticipatory bail plea hearing tomorrow. 

Rooms with a view: The central prison in Goa. 

An FIR has been filed against BJP MLA Vijay Jolly for vandalising Shoma Chaudhury's home. Not a jolly fellow anymore.

Vijay Jolly keeps his date with Twitter -- trending right now -- after vandalising Shoma Chaudhury's home.

NCW's response after meeting Shoma Chaudhury this afternoon, has not changed. The National Commission for Women said there has been a lapse and they were dissatisfied with Shoma Chaudhury's response in the Tehelka case. They said they were unhappy that Visakha guidelines were not followed. The NCW also wants an FIR to be filed against those who involved in vandalising Shoma's home.

Ramesh Srivats gets it right: VijayJolly - Name-Plate Animal Thing.

Shoma Chaudhury says she is extremely upset with Vijay Jolly and has complained to the National Commission of Women.  Jolly insists she is not ashamed of he did.   

BJP MLA from South Delhi, Vijay Jolly, says he is not ashamed of defacing Shoma Chaudhury's name-plate or her driveway with black ink. He says he did not do it for fame, but to make a statement because Shoma tried to hush-up the sex assault case. He says he has no personal agenda against either Shoma or Tarun Tejpal.    

Times Now reports that the Goa police has issued a non-bailable warrant against Tejpal. This means the Tehelka editor will most likely be arrested now since he does not have an anticipatory bail. 

Mishra said the police would proceed against Tejpal without loss of time. The point is, nobody seems to know where Tejpal is, though media reports said he had left Delhi at 8am. He has not reached Goa, says reports.

So, will Tarun Tejpal will be arrested? The Goa police say they have not accepted Tejpal's plea for more time to depose. The police says it's a serious problem and can't give Tejpal more time. DIG Goa, OP Mishra, says the 3 pm deadline for Tejpal to present himself has expired and the police had taken into account the time it would take for Tejpal to come to Goa from Delhi. "We will proceed as per law on the case. We will not give him any extension," said Mishra. "The next logical step will be taken," said Mishra. He however refused to state whether Tejpal would be arrested.

Congress today sought to puncture Narendra Modi's development claims saying his Gujarat model was not backed by facts and he was "neither zero nor hero".

Releasing a 32-page document carrying statistics about Gujarat's performance on various paradigms, Union minister Kapil Sibal said Modi's state is "most indebted state of India".

"He (Modi) is neither zero, nor hero. His place lies somewhere in between. He is trying to put down everyone else, the rest of India and give credit only to himself for everything as if he is messiah," he said.

"The fact is that there are many states including Delhi, which are way head Gujarat in many parameters. He changes history, he changes statistics. The truth about Gujarat is that as there is good and bad, hits and misses about it like it is about every state," he said.

Security has been beefed up in Jammu for the proposed rally of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, with the police sealing the venue and making it out of bounds for general public. Checking of all vehicles coming to and leaving Jammu is being conducted at various security points across the city, police said.

Sushma Swaraj tweets: I disapprove of what Shri Vijay Jolly has done at the residence of Ms Shoma Chaudhary.

BJP's Harsh Vardhan is the most preferred chief ministerial candidate, closely followed by Kejriwal, said the survey.

However, opinion is divided over the issue of safety of women.While 47 per cent respondents said crime is increasing as Delhi Police is busy protecting VIPs, 40 per cent said absence of fear of law among people is the reason behind rise in criminal activities.

Almost one-third respondents felt poor policing is the most important reason behind spurt in crime cases against women.

The opinion poll was conducted with 6,340 respondents.

The survey said that the BJP may emerge as the single-largest party in Delhi assembly elections which are expected to throw up a hung house.

According to the opinion poll, the BJP is likely to get around 32 seats in the 70-member house with a vote share of 33 per cent.

The Congress is expected to get 25 seats with 26 per cent vote share and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to get 10 seats with 23 per cent vote share, it said.

Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj say they had dissuaded Vijay Jolly from holding protests outside Shoma Chaudhary's house. Jaitely said Jolly persisted on doing it, so it was a personal decision, not a party decision.  

Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has withdrawn his anticipatory bail plea in the sexual assault case from the Delhi high court. He had filed a bail plea to prevent from getting arrested by the Goa police who are investigating the case. 

Sushma Swaraj reiterates her charge, that a Union Cabinet Minister who is the founder and patron of Tehlaka is shielding Tarun Tejpal. 

Former Army Chief General V K Singh was today issued notice by a Delhi court asking for his response on a plea filed by Lieutenant General (retd) Tejinder Singh, who has sought cancellation of bail granted to him in the criminal defamation case against him and four others.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari in damage control mode. Gadkari spoke to Shoma Chaudhury telling her that the protests outside her house has nothing to do with the party, it was the act of an individual.

Incidentally, Tarun Tejpal's 3 pm deadline to appear before the Goa police has ended. Tejpal wants time till Saturday to appear before the police since his bail hearing comes up tomorrow.

As rain played hide-and-seek on an overcast September evening, keeping many residents of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, confined to their homes, a group of about 20 tribal artists from conflict-ridden Bastar assembled in a dormitory in the back of a state-run museum.

Insulated from the outside world, they practiced a range of dance and folk music exclusively devoted to their deities, and unique to their regions and subculture. Read

The complete email trail of the Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case. Read

 Rahul Pandita: In the great tentwallah tradition of the BJP, Vijay Jolly is just another imbecile peg.

Shishir Gupta: Jolly was told by a snr BJP ldr not to do this 2 days ago. personal publicity and not party brief I am tld.


Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Jolly said outside Shoma Chaudhury's home, "My head hangs in shame. She (Chaudhury) did not stand up in support of her woman colleague and for the past one week she has been trying to suppress the complaint and facts in the case."

"It was least expected from her to report the matter to police immediately. She should have also asked Tejpal to submit himself to the law of the land. He should have appeared in the police station and have the guts of accepting that he is guilty and submitting to the law. None of this happened," Jolly said.

"I will do this 1000 times", said the BJP leader.

Former Managing Editor of Tehelka Shoma Chaudhury today met NCW member in-charge of Goa Shamina Shafiq and is understood to have briefed her about the magazine's response in dealing with alleged sexual assault case against its editor Tarun Tejpal.

Earlier in the day, Chaudhury, accused of attempting a cover up, resigned as Managing Editor of Tehelka.

Tejpal has already been booked by Goa police for alleged sexual assault of the women journalist colleague in Goa early this month.

Could India become a police state -- perhaps with the consent and even approval of a substantial number of its citizens?

It probably could, if the indulgent reaction to the disturbing revelations about the secret surveillance operations of India's most prominent state government contained in tapes recently made available to the public is any sign. Read

What you didn't quite see when you watched Sachin Tendulkar for 24 years. Read the story on Open. 

The seventh season of the hit TV quiz show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' got its first female crorepati in the young Firoz Fatma from Uttar Pradesh.

Hailing from Saharanpur in UP, the 22-year-old became the first woman to have won Rs 1 crore in this season of the game show hosted by megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

A BSc graduate, Firoz never wanted her sister to stop studies due to financial problems. So she sacrificed her further education to let her continue.

Firoz's sole aim to participate in the game show was to win a handsome sum to pay off her deceased father's loan. She gathered all the knowledge only by reading newspapers and watching news channels.

In other news: A Special Investigation Team was today constituted by the Assam government to probe the Lakhimpur 'rape-and-murder' case even as the postmortem report of the victim stated that she was not raped.

The Assam police today also formally arrested an accused, who was detained by police yesterday, police sources said.

According to the sources, the woman's postmortem report received today has stated that no rape was committed on her but she has suffered injuries on her head and near the eyes.

Raju Chetia, who was picked up by police yesterday on suspicion of his involvement in the incident, was arrested today under sections IPC 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine as person), IPC 376 (gangrape) and IPC 302 (murder), the sources said.

"During interrogation Chetia confessed that he and the woman were in a relationship for the last two years but denied that he was involved in her killing," they said.

Nitin Gokhale tweets: So thanks to Vijay Jolly the discussion point will not be how the accused is dodging law but how BJP is trying extract revenge on Tehelka.

Shoma Chaudhury is at the office of the National Commission for Women in Delhi. The NCW has demanded her arrest. 

And in Kanpur, the BJP women's wing has begun protests against Shoma Chaudhary.

If Shoma as attracted scorn for her the way she has handled the Tehelka crisis, this act by the BJP in Delhi, will ensure a huge sympathy wave for her. It must be remembered that she is not an accused in the case.

BJP south Delhi chief, Vijay Jolly, apparently tried to climb on to Shoma Chaudhury's car when she was leaving her home. Clearly his political theatrics, an euphemism for hooliganism, doesn't work with the people.

Shoma did tell the protestors outside her home that she would be addressing the media.

On Twitter:

Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha: Shameful act by Vijay Jolly and his "supporters" at Soma Chaudhary's house..its vandalism


Nilanjana Roy : So if you want justice for one woman, bully another? The BJP & Vijay Jolly's vandalism at Shoma C's house so wrong.

Nandita Saikia: Have no sympathy for what I've seen of Shoma's handling of the sexual assault allegations but nothing legitimises illegal acts against her.

Abhijit Majumder: Digvijaya backs Tejpal, Vijay Jolly defaces Shoma's nameplate. Wonder if politicians are a different species who live disguised as humans

The protests had in fact died down, but the drama reached its peak when Shoma Chaudhury stepped outside her house to get into her car. Even as the police provided security, they did nothing to prevent the protestors, especially Vijay Jolly from defacing the nameplate and throwing ink on the pavement outside her home.

BJP workers protesting outside the residence of Tehelka's former Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury, has defaced the nameplate outside her home.

Senior BJP leader Vijay Jolly, who was heading the protests, demanded her immediate arrest for allegedly trying to cover up sexual harassment complaint filed against the magazine's Editor Tarun Tejpal by a woman journalist.

Armed with a tin of black paint, Jolly defaced the Shoma Chaudhury's nameplate, writing 'accused' on it and painted an arrow pointing to her name. This, while the police looked on.

Tarun Tejpal has accused the BJP of indulging in vendetta politics.

Social activist Anna Hazare will launch indefinite hunger strike for a strong Lokpal Bill, at Yadavbaba temple in Ralegan Siddhi from December 10. Announcing his agitation, Hazare has asked the Centre to "show courage" in bringing in the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament, beginning from December 5.  Read

Veteran journalist, Chairman of Kasturi & Sons Limited and Publisher of The Hindu newspaper, N Ram, on Thursday condemned the sexual assault incident involving Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal, and said the latter is terribly wrong in saying the BJP is prejudiced against him.

"Tarun Tejpal is terribly wrong in saying BJP is prejudiced against him. It is totally unacceptable. He has brought partisan politics into it," Ram said.

"Tejpal saying politics is behaviour of a desperate man who has been cornered," he added.

On Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury's resignation, Ram said: "She is a well-informed person, she knew the amended law, so there is no excuse for her to not have taken action.

"This is disgraceful, there will be legal repercussions. Tehelka is in trouble,' he added.

Hailing the ''brave'' woman journalist, Ram said her statement is very precise and she is being supported by everyone.

"The woman journalist is an excellent reporter, her statement is very precise. And, she is brave too. She has everybody''s support,' he added.

Cobrapost, the website both politicians and industrialists are afraid of, is ready with another sting operation, which will be released tomorrow, reports Sheela Bhatt from Delhi.

According to sources, it will be about the "underbelly of the social media" and will expose a few unknown and shocking things of the Indian Weblog.

Aniruddha Bahal, editor of Cobrapost, refused to talk about the sting, saying he would make the expose tomorrow morning at a press conference.

After Snoop-gate that exposed the Gujarat government, chief minister Narendra Modi and his confidante Amit Shah, Cobrapost is attracting attention, once again. 

The Goa police is yet to respond to Tejpal's request that he appear for questioning on Saturday, after the Delhi HC hears his bail pleas. 

Journalists have always been a bit leery of Tarun Tejpal and his methods. An unlikely mix of conscience keeper and entrepreneur, his range of activities surpassed what most of us aspire to. He was more gifted by far than your average self-important editor or hack.

And more innovative in his financing. Wednesday morning's revelations in The Indian Express about his partnership with the controversial liquor baron Ponty Chadha to create a private club in Delhi, which promised 'intimacy' with eminent world shapers, is a good example.

Read more

Another story from our extensive coverage of the fifth anniversary of 26/11: Moshe's laughter rings in the home of the Rosenbergs, his maternal grandparents in Afula, Israel. Abhishek Mande Bhot listens in. Read

In effect, Tejpal will only appear before the Goa police after his anticipatory bail plea is heard tomorrow.

The Delhi High Court had on Wednesday reserved its order on Tejpal's bail application till Friday.

Tejpal had applied for anticipatory bail even before the Goa Police summoned him.

Tejpal has filed a petition before the high court alleging that there was conspiracy behind the allegations of sexual assault, that the woman journalist was lying, and described the incident as a 'light hearted banter'.

Goa Police had on November 22 lodged an FIR against Tejpal under IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 (2)(K) (rape by a person of a woman in his custody taking advantage of his official position) and 354 (outraging modesty). Conviction under section 376 of IPC entails a maximum of life term in jail.

Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal may not appear before the Goa police for questioning today. Summons were sent to Tejpal around 11 am today, which his lawyers say is not enough time to reach Goa.  His legal team says he will not appear for questioning before Saturday.

The Goa Police has summoned Tejpal to appear before it in connection with the sexual assault allegation against him by 3 pm today.

Media reports say that Tejpal could be arrested as soon as he reaches Goa.

He has been summoned in the wake of the recording of the statement made by the victim, a former woman journalist of Tehelka, before a Goa court. 

How can a State be so criminally neglectful towards the safety of its citizens, asks Tarun Vijay. Read

Each of Nawaz Sharif's past choices for army chief has ended in a crisis for the country. Will he prove fourth time lucky? Read

Update on the Aarushi-Hemraj case: Five-and-a-half years of investigation, numerous twists, turns and trials and a judgment later, the primary bone of contention in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case continues to lie on one crucial finding: the report of the Hyderabad-based CDFD (Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnosis) that was first submitted to CBI in November 2008 and "rectified" in March 2011.  Read more

Goa police has said that Tarun Tejpal is likely to be arrested when he reaches Goa. Yesterday, the Delhi High Court reserved its order on Tejpal's anticipatory bail till November 29.

The decision came after the HC yesterday declined to give interim relief to Tehelka editor-in-chief after the Goa Police opposed his plea for anticipatory bail in a case of alleged sexual assault on a junior woman colleague.

Sheila Dikshit, who is asking Delhi to pick her as Chief Minister for a fourth time in a row, has said that a survey which predicts that Arvind Kejriwal will  hand her a big defeat in next week's assembly election, does not worry her.  Read more

The India connection runs deeply '" and unhappily '" in the family of the next Pakistan army chief, Lt Gen. Raheel Sharif. His brother, Major Shabbir Sharif, won a gallantry award in the 1965 war with India.

For his stellar role in the 1971 war -- during which he was reported to have caught a grenade hurled at his company from an Indian bunker and hurled it back near Sulemanki on the western front -- Major Sharif was awarded Pakistan's top military honour, the Nishan-e-Haidar.  Read

Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle.

The Supreme Court of Portugal had last year dismissed an appeal of the CBI, challenging termination of extradition of the underworld don.

Salem was shot at by gangster Devendra Jagtap alias JD, an accused in the murder of advocate Shahid Azmi who had represented an 26/11 Mumbai attack accused, in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai on June 27.

Salem was hit in his hand by one of the two rounds allegedly fired by JD.

Almost-forgotten gangster Abu Salem gets seven years imprisonment in teh 2001 fake passport case. 

A special court for CBI cases on Monday convicted the  extradited gangster Abu Salem in connection with the 2001 fake passport case.

The court convicted Salem under different Sections of IPC for obtaining a passport under a fictitious name in 2001 from Kurnool district.

CBI senior public prosecutor T. V. Ramana said Salem was found guilty and convicted of charges under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.

Goa Police had on November 22 lodged an FIR against Tejpal under IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 (2)(K) (rape by a person of a woman in his custody taking advantage of his official position) and 354 (outraging modesty). Conviction under section 376 of IPC entails a maximum of life term in jail.

Rape has always been seen as a stigma that only the woman victim has to bear. It is vital to change this perspective. Read

 BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh on Thursday said Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury's resignation has come late and added that she should have resigned long time back."

Shoma Chaudhury's resignation has come late, she should have resigned long time back. Taking time also helps in destroying the evidence," Singh said.He further claimed that Tehelka is a mouthpiece of Congress."There is no doubt that Tehelka always worked as a mouthpiece of congress," he said.

DIG of Goa Police, OP Mishra, refused to discuss their strategy if he does not turn up before the Investigating Officer. The police may issue a non-bailable warrant against Tejpal if he does not appear before the IO or prolong the questioning till Delhi High Court comes out with its order on his anticipatory bail plea on Friday, experts say.

Sreenivasan Jain tweets: Feeling wrenched about Tehelka's ruin. The writing /reportage could be patchy, but at its best, it was fearless, edgy, funny.

Kanchan Gupta tweets: Even at this stage all Shoma Chaudhury pompously does is to repeat ad nauseam her laughable 'feminist positions'. What a pathetic poseur.

And another one from Gupta: Both recuse and resignation are part of strategy and tactics. Shoma by 'resigning' is seeking a halo that will grant her immunity.

In more trouble for Tehelka's founder-editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting his junior colleague, the CCTV footage sourced by Goa Police from a starred hotel here has "corroborated" the facts narrated by the woman journalist, a senior officer said today.

The CCTV footage of the area outside the elevator, in which the alleged sexual assault took place, corroborates the victim's narration, said an officer, who is part of the team investigating the footage, on the condition of anonymity.

The woman journalist had accused Tejpal of molesting her on November 7 and 8 during the ThinkFest event organised by the magazine.

The footage could add to the troubles of Tejpal who has been given 3 pm deadline by police to appear before them here. The journalist registered her statement before a magistrate here yesterday.

"It is clear in the CCTV footage, dated November 7, outside the lift in Block 7 of the hotel that something went wrong in the lift," the officer said.

"The footage initially shows Tejpal and the victim woman accompanying Hollywood actor Robert De Nero to the latter's room. This was around 9 pm when Tejpal is seen entering the lift with his hands on the shoulders of the young journalist," the officer said.

He further said, "One-and-half hours later, around 10:30 pm, Tejpal is seen near the same elevator on the ground floor pulling the woman inside".

The officer said the lift was seen opening on the second floor almost after two minutes. "The woman is seen coming out of the elevator adjusting her clothes and running down the steps as Tejpal follows her," the officer added.

Yesterday, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar dismissed Tarun Tejpal's accusations that the BJP government in the state was pursuing vendetta against him because of the sting operation conducted by his organisation that unseated party President Bangaru Laxman and other issues.

Ever since the scandal became public Shoma Chaudhury, a shareholder in Tehelka and associated companies started by Tarun Tejpal, was accused of a cover up and of not taking proper action the case demanded.

Initially, Chaudhury sought to portray it as an internal matter and was more interested in getting an apology from Tejpal to the victim rather than reporting it to police because of the nature of the cognisable offence.

Later, she tried to set up an internal complaints committee with Urvashi Butalia, a friend of Tejpal, as its head.

The committee never took off and Butalia also refused to be part of it.

Meanwhile, a number of editors resigned from the magazine accusing Chaudhury of not doing justice to the victim and being interested only in protecting Tejpal.

Protests outside Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudury's Delhi home after she quit the magazine at 5 am today. Here's what she said in her letter that was e-mailed to the Tehelka management. Read

The NCW says that her resignation has not reduced her culpability in the event that she is arrested.

Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting his colleague, has left New Delhi for Goa at 8 am to meet the 3 pm deadline ordered by the Goa Police for interrogation today.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court postponed the hearing for Tejpal's request for both anticipatory and interim bail till November 29. 

The World Bank and United Nations today appealed for billions of dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but said there would be no investment in nuclear power. 

Two workers were killed Wednesday when a crane collapsed at a stadium set to host next year's World Cup opener, raising fresh doubts about Brazil's ability to finish work for the tournament on schedule. 

The UN Security Council has blacklisted an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant and his network for allegedly being linked to the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. 

Syria's mainstream rebel leader has said that all those fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime are Muslims but that the draconian punishments imposed by jihadist groups in Islam's name are "alien." 

A businessman who stabbed a Chinese family of four to death at their home in Britain was found guilty today of murdering them. Du Anxiang, 54, was convicted by a jury at Northampton Crown Court in central England. 

Thousands of mourners attended the funerals today of three suspected Palestinian militants who were killed in an Israeli army raid in the West Bank the day before. 

The European Court of Human Rights today began an examination of France's prohibition on the wearing of full-face veils, the so-called 'burqa ban' that is seen by critics as a breach of religious freedom. 

Iran's six-month temporary rollback of its nuclear activities agreed to in the recent deal has not begun and the start date has not yet been set, a spokesman for world powers' chief negotiator said today. 

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed a new army chief to replace Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who will retire tomorrow after spending six years in the role. 

Part of the stadium that will host the 2014 World Cup opener in Brazil collapsed today, killing at least two people and causing significant damage, authorities said, the latest setback plaguing what should be soccer's signature event. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rivals agreed early Wednesday to a blueprint for Germany's next government, bringing to a close five weeks of negotiations that ended in a 17-hour session. 

Tensions are running high in the skies between China and Japan -- and the United States is refusing to stay on the sidelines.

The Italian Senate on Wednesday expelled three-time ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi from Parliament over his tax fraud conviction, ending his two-decade legislative run for now, but not his political career.