Pakistan today held a detailed briefing for Islamabad-based foreign diplomats on the tension along the border with India, as part of efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level. 

US-led aircraft hammered Islamic State jihadists with 21 bombing raids near Kobane amid signs the strikes had "slowed" the group's advance on the Syrian border town, the American military said. 

Insurance companies with huge exposure to flood-hit J&K submitted their compliance reports to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court today. 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are giving $25 million to the CDC Foundation to help fight the Ebola epidemic.In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said the epidemic is "at a critical turning point."

"It has infected 8,400 people so far, but it is spreading very quickly and projections suggest it could infect 1 million people or more over the next several months if not addressed," he wrote.

"We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn't spread further and become a long-term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio.

India-born British author Neel Mukherjee has emerged as the odds-on favourite to win the Booker Prize in London tonight. Mukherjee's 'The Lives Of Others', a sweeping account of life in 1960s Calcutta, is 5/2 favourite to win with bookmakers William Hill, making him the frontrunner for the coveted 50,000 pound prize to be presented by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at a gala ceremony at London's Guildhall.

London-based Mukherjee has been selected for his second novel published in May this year. The book is based in his birth place of Kolkata and centres around a dysfunctional Ghosh family in the 1960s and the secrets and rivalries within the family against a backdrop of political activism.

Mukerjee, who studied at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, reviews fiction for the 'Times' and the 'Sunday Telegraph' and his first novel, 'A Life Apart' was a joint winner of the Vodafone-Crossword Award in India.

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan today called on all the citizens of the country to show their support for Kashmir flood victims. Jammu and Kashmir was hit by heavy floods caused by torrential rains in September, which left at least 200 dead and thousands homeless.

Bachchan, while promoting a charity campaign 'HUM HAIN... Umeed-e-Kashmir' for the flood victims here, said, "As human beings and as Indians we need to do all that we can help our countrymen in need.

The plight of the people of Jammu and Kashmir has always been a matter of concern and the floods have only made it worse.

"All that we do simply won't be enough to meet the various challenges facing the people, but every drop counts. Hence we call on everyone in our country and from the world community to come forward and provide their support."

Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is facing serious threats to his life from an outlawed militant group, a media report said today.

The government of Sindh has ordered law enforcement agencies "to ensure extreme vigilance" and take "special measures" to save Bilawal's life from Jundullah militant group, the Dawn reported.

The provincial government in what was intended as a confidential letter shared intelligence of a plan being made by the banned group to target the PPP chairperson. However, the leaked letter did not state the details regarding the date, time, place and method of the attack.

Petrol price cut by Re 1 litre with effect from tonight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "man ki baat" address to the nation on October 3 on All India Radio (AIR) was listened by over 66 per cent of the people in six cities of the country. The survey was conducted randomly in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Bhopal and Trivandrum covering 100 listeners in each of these cities, said Director General of AIR F Sheharyar.

"It was found that 66.7 per cent of the people had listened to the PM's speech on AIR and they found it very useful," he said.

Addressing the nation on the ocassion of Vijaya Dashami, Modi had urged people to share their thoughts with him in what may become a more regular conversation on Sundays at 11 a.m.

The transmission was also carried by several private TV channels and FM radios. Sheharyar also talked about AIR's plans to broadcast programmes which are run on medium wave on FM,l thus giving a new lease of life to the popular programmes aired on medium wave stations.

The Bombay high court today dismissed appeals filed by former Maharashtra MLA Suresh alias Pappu Kalani and three others against a sessions court verdict convicting them in a murder case.

The division bench of justices S C Dharmadhikari and Anil Menon dismissed the appeals, saying the court did not find anything perverse in the verdict convicting them for conspiracy and murder of Ghansham Bhatija. Bhatija was shot dead at Ulhasnagar in neighbouring Thane district on February 27, 1990.

His brother Inder Bhatija, who saw his brother being gunned down, was shot dead on April 28, 1990 despite having police protection. According to the police, the murders were fall-out of a long-standing political and criminal rivalry.

Telugu actor and founder president of Jana Sena Party Pawan Kalyan today announced Rs 50 lakh to the Chief Minister's relief fund for taking up relief operations in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh.

"I am deeply anguished by the calamity that has swept through Vizag and North Andhra. The plight of lakhs of people who have been destabilised is unimaginable. My heart aches for them," Pawan Kalyan said in a release here.

"It is in times like these that we should step forward beyond parties and politics and come together as one force to overcome this calamity.

Even as all efforts are being made by the Central and State governments, as an individual I will be handing over Rs 50 lakh towards the CM Relief Fund," he added.

Statements in a blog are personal opinion which cannot be treated as an evidence, the Delhi High Court today said and dismissed a plea for a CBI probe into allegation by Justice (Rtd) Markandey Katju who had blogged that a former CJI had made "improper compromises" to favour a High Court judge despite adverse IB report against him.

Refusing to intervene into the controversy, a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said a CBI probe cannot be directed merely on the basis of the statements made on a blog and dismissed a PIL seeking probe into the statements made by Katju, ex-Supreme Court judge and Press Council of India Chairman.

"We are unable to understand as to how the matter involves public interest to direct an investigation by CBI at this stage, that too on the basis of the statements made on a blog," it said.

"It is also relevant to note that blog is nothing but a personal website that allows the users to reflect, share opinions and discuss various topics in the form of an online journal and sometimes letting the readers comment on their posts," it said, adding "the statements in a blog are only the personal opinion of the user and cannot take the place of evidence."

BSP MLA B L Kushwaha, arrested by the state CID-Crime Branch in connection with a murder case, was today sent to police remand for four days till October 18.

Dholpur Sadar Court Justice Rajesh Sharma granted four days of police custody to Kushwaha till October 18 when he was produced in the court by the CID-CB, Investigating Officer and Additional SP Sarita Singh said.

Khushwaha was arrested yesterday after he surrendered before the IO at the police headquarters under sections 302 and 120B of IPC for alleged murder and criminal conspiracy in the murder of a person, Naresh, Singh said.

Naresh was allegedly shot dead in Jheel-Ka-Pura area near Dholpur by two assailants on December 27, 2012. The MLA's name figured in the investigations for his alleged involvement in hiring shooters as the victim was in love with his (MLA's) sister.

Attributing the fall in inflation to initiatives taken by the government, Finance Minster Arun Jaitley today exuded confidence that the country is on the way to achieve a low and stable price regime.

"It is heartening to note that we have been able to bring food inflation under control. Growth in vegetable and protein prices that have been contributing to the recent increase in inflation rates has shrunk, thanks to the steps taken by the government," he said.

The wholesale price inflation in September dipped to five-year low of 2.38 per cent, while the retail inflation eased to 6.46 per cent, the lowest since the government started releasing the new series of Consumer Price Index data in January 2012.

The judge in the trial of Indian-origin British businessman accused of killing his wife on their honeymoon today ruled that e-mails between him and an unnamed third party relating to his conflicting sexuality were inadmissible as evidence.

The state had raised the issue to highlight the fact that Shrien Dewani, who admitted at the start of the trial that he was bisexual, could have had a motive for hiring three people to kill his wife Anni while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town in November 2010.

But Western Cape High Court Deputy Judge President Jeannette Traverso ruled that it was irrelevant and inadmissible, saying that "Dewani's conflicting sexuality was not in dispute".

Dewani, 34, is standing trial in the Western Cape High Court and is accused of being the mastermind who hired the three men to kill his 28-year-old Indo-Swedish wife in a staged carjacking.

In a major reshuffle, Uttar Pradesh government today transferred 11 IAS and 18 IPS officers, including district magistrates and police chiefs of several districts.

Principal Secretary (Labour) Shailesh Krishna has been given additional charge of Cooperative Societies, an official spokesman said here. Special Secretary (Finance) Surendra Kumar has been posted as the District Magistrate (DM) of Siddharth Nagar, whereas DM of Bulandshahr Nidhi Kesarwani has been put on the wait list, the spokesman said.

DM of Mathura V Chnadrakala has been sent to Bulandshahr in the same capacity. DM of Kannauj Rajesh Kumar has been posted as DM of Mathura.

Chief Executive Officer of UP Rural Road Development Authority Anuj Kumar Jha has been made the DM of Kannauj. Special Secretary (Mining) Santish Kumar Rai has been sent to Etah as the DM, replacing Selva Kumari J, who has been put on the wait list.

The NIA, along with West Bengal Police, today conducted searches at various places in the state in connection with the October 2 explosion at a house in Burdwan town in which the involvement of a terror group is suspected.

Searches were conducted at various places including the rented residence of deceased Shakil in Beldanga, Murshidabad in West Bengal by the team of the National Investigation Agency and West Bengal CID.

Certain documents and metal pieces used in making IEDs have been recovered. A thorough search has also been initiated at the Simulia madrassa in Burdwan where the accused were allegedly radicalised in jihadi ideology.

A Rs 2.50 per litre cut in diesel prices, the first in over four years, is likely after results of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana are announced on Sunday.

Petrol price, which unlike diesel is a deregulated commodity, is likely to see a price reduction of about Re one a litre at the next scheduled revision due tomorrow.

"The government will take the right decision at the right time," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said when asked about the impending diesel price cut. Diesel, the nation's most consumed fuel that has a direct bearing on prices of essential commodities as it is the preferred fuel for the transport sector, is regulated or controlled by the government.

The fall in international oil rates last month led to situation where state-owned oil firms started making profit on diesel sales, the first time in history. However, the benefit could not be passed on to consumers as the model code of conduct had come into place with the announcement of elections to Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies.

Since reduction in rates would have been a new policy, a revision was deferred.

Remnants of the cyclone Hudhud over India's east coast pulled the mercury significantly down in the national capital as it witnessed sporadic showers which led to a nip in the air.

'Traces' of rainfall were witnessed in Safdarjung, Lodhi Road, Ridge, Palam and Ayanagar areas between 8.30 pm yesterday and 8.30 am today," said MeT department officials.

The Safdarjung observatory recorded 1.6 mm rainfall today around 2.30 PM while areas under Lodhi Road, Ridge, Palam and Ayanagar remained dry.

"The rains and subsequent fall in temperature was due to remnants of cyclone Hudhud which was over eastern Uttar Pradesh as a depression and Western disturbances over Jammu and Kashmir. However, the impact is already over," said B P Yadav, Director of Indian Meteorological department.

The MeT has predicted overcast conditions for tomorrow along with light rain.

Diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who had hit the headlines last year after she was arrested in the US in a visa fraud case, could be in trouble for a TV interview during which she talked about the incident and that things have not moved much since then.

Khobragade, a director-level officer in the MEA headquarters here after her return in January said in the interview, "Things haven't moved as such, but I am hopeful that specially this government will take it up positively because this is not just my matter, it's about having a special judicial process against a diplomat."

Asked about her conduct in going to the media, the MEA Spokesperson said the views expressed by Khobragade were her own. On whether she had sought permission for the interview and if the MEA had given the permission, he said, "No on both accounts."

The Bombay high court today reserved the order on a CBI plea seeking to drop the name of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as an accused in the the Adarsh housing society scam case.

The then Maharashtra governor had refused to sanction Chavan's prosecution. The court today also rejected an intervention application filed by activist Ketan Tirodkar opposing CBI's plea. CBI and Chavan had opposed the plea saying that Tirodkar had no locus standi to file such an application.

Justice M L Tahilyani said he was rejecting Tirodkar's application because CBI and Chavan had opposed it. However, the judge said before passing the order on CBI's plea, he would go into a Supreme Court judgement cited by Tirodkar which says that sanction is not needed to prosecute an accused in such cases.

The special CBI court had dismissed the Central agency's petition seeking to drop Chavan's name, after which it moved the high court.

According to latest media reports, a Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force has crashed in Pune. Both pilots have ejected safely, according to an IAF spokesperson.

Image for representation only

A line of women's leggings carrying images of Hindu gods and goddesses available for purchase on Amazon.com, seems to have upset some Hindus who have demanded that the website remove those leggings from its site immediately, calling them inappropriate. A member of the group, called Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Hindu gods were not to be worn around one's legs, crotch and hips. The group has also asked for a formal apology from the online retailer.

A leading hotel in Chennai cancelled its beer-drinking competition, after cadre of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Sangh Parivar, warned the management to call off the event, saying it was illegal to promote alcohol. According to the New Indian Express, Radission Blu, Egmore, had announced the competition 'Octofiesta - Drink Up', which was scheduled for Sunday. On Sunday, things took a surprise turn when the ABVP, which is spearheading a campaign demanding total prohibition in the state, warned the hotel management against holding the competition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a survey of cyclone-hit Vizag and Visakhapatnam. After his survey, addressing the media, PM Modi said that cyclone Hudhud had caused severe damage. "We are with the state of Andhra and Odisha and the Centre extends all help in rehabilitation,' said Modi. He added that the MET department had efficiently made used of technology, which helped in saving the lives of many people. He also extended his condolences to the families who had lost their loved ones in the cyclone. "I firmly believe that we will overcome this challenge soon and electricity, water and communications links will be restored," he added. The PM also announced a Rs 2 lakh compensation for kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured. 

Fresh firing broke out in Poonch's Balakot area. The firing comes 24 hours after a woman was injured in Poonch after Pakistan had engaged in shelling. On Monday, there was a brief firing from across the border along the LoC in Sabjian belt of Poonch district.

A Delhi sessions court held all the five men accused of abducting and raping a 30-year call center employee in Delhi's Dhaula Kuan guilty. Sentencing of the convicts will be held on October 17. According to the police, the five men abducted the woman, who hailed from the northeast, November 24, 2010, while she was walking home with a friend after her shift ended.The abductors took her to Mangolpuri, gang-raped her, and left her on an isolated road there.

A United Nations employee has died from Ebola, a hospital in Leipzig said Tuesday. The unnamed patient, 56, was being treated at the St Georg hospital. Hospital authorities said that the patient was diagnosed with Ebola on October 6 and arrived in Leipzig for treatment on October 9. The outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people since March - mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. The World Health Organization described it as the "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times".

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a showcause notice to e-commerce giant Flipkart seeking a Rs 1000 crore penalty for violating rules during its mega sale.   Flipkart's Big Billion Day faced severe criticism from users after facing technical glitches. It also raised concerns among small and big traders that such campaigns would badly affect players in the traditional retail market. 

A rather 'harsh' directive to the members of Jadavpur University Teachers' Association to bring normalcy to the varsity yesterday drew sharp criticism from the teaching and non-teaching staff. The students are continuing their protest movement against 'police action' and are demanding the vice chancellor's resignation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Visakhapatnam to take stock of the damage the area has suffered after cyclone Hudhud. Fifteen people were killed in Visakhapatnam, six in Vizianagaram and one in Srikakulam. More than 6,600 houses were destroyed and 1,780 animals had perished. Trees, electricity and telephone poles have been flattened all over. Hospitals are packed with people seeking refuge and essentials like food and water, apart from a sliver of power to charge their phones.

A day after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was sacked as the spokesman of the party, the Bharatiya Janata Party has derided the Grand Old Party for its unusual show of intolerance. "If this goes on, soon only Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will be left in the Congress," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi remarked.

With Judge Thokozile Masipa in the courtroom, the second day of Oscar Pistorius's sentencing hearing begins. The athlete's manager Peet van Zyl will be cross-examined by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel. The former Paralympian, known as 'Blade Runner' was found guilty of the culpable homicide - equivalent to manslaughter - of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last month.

Three members of a family were killed and a girl was injured when their house collapsed in a town near Rewa in Madhya Pradesh in the wee hours following heavy rains due to Hudhud cyclonic storm, police said. Around 2 am, the house of Bhagwandas Soni collapsed due to heavy rains that lashed the district since last evening. Cyclone Hudhud led to heavy rains in eastern Madhya Pradesh since yesterday, an official added.

In a function to felicitate the medal winners at the recently concluded Asian Games, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded their efforts. He said that he was glad about their victory at the Games. On Twitter, Modi also shared some pictures of him with the athletes. 

Declining prices of vegetable and other food articles pulled down wholesale inflation sharply to 2.38 percent in September compared to 7.05 percent during the corresponding month of the previous year. The inflation measured on Wholesale Price Index was at 3.74 per cent in August. The retail inflation too eased to 6.46 per cent, lowest since the new series of Consumer Price Index was released in January 2012. 

In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said that homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognise positive aspects of same-sex couples. While the text did not signal any change in the Church's condemnation of homosexual acts or its opposition to gay marriage, it used language that was less judgmental and more compassionate than past Vatican statements under previous popes.

It was a government that promised to deliver on its, well, promises, but if its handling of the attendance portal for government employees is any indication, it seems we are in for more of the same. 

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on Richter scale struck the southern coast of El Salvador. According to an alert issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, there was a risk of "hazardous tsunami waves".Though there were no reports of any major damage, at least one man was killed when an electricity pole fell upon him, Wilfredo Salgado, mayor of the city of San Miguel in El Salvador posted on Twitter.

Share price of realty giant DLF today tanked by nearly 25 per cent -- probably its biggest one-day fall -- on the back of Sebi imposing a three-year ban on the company and its top executives from securities markets. 

Barely a game into the Indian Super League and Mumbai City FC have been dealt a massive blow with skipper Syed Rahim Nabi ruled out for up to three weeks due to an ankle injury sustained during the team's opening match against Atletico de Kolkata. 

Pakistan's latest efforts seeking UN intervention on the Kashmir issue have failed to draw any new response from the world body which reiterated that India and Pakistan need to resolve all differences through dialogue to find a long-term solution to the dispute. Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, when asked to comment on the letter seeking Ban's intervention and his viewpoint on the issue, told reporters he would refer to a statement that was issued last week by Ban's spokesperson in which the UN chief encouraged India and Pakistan to resolve all differences through dialogue and engage constructively to find a long-term solution for peace and stability in Kashmir. The secretary-general is "concerned about the recent escalation of violence along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. He deplores the loss of lives and the displacement of civilians on both sides," said the statement.

Leading economists in the country have sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting concerns that his government is trying to dilute the rural jobs scheme brought in by the United Progressive Alliance government."We are writing to express our deep concern about the future of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for NREGA," the letter said. "The message seems to be that the new government is not committed to the NREGA and hopes to restrict it as much as possible," the economists said, urging PM Modi to ensure that the programme receives all the support it needs to survive.

The government wanted the public to know at the click of a mouse which babus were absent on any given working day and whether the rest were coming and leaving on time. No minister, said the babus. So, less than a fortnight after an attendance portal for its employees went live on September 30, the Centre has had to backtrack on its promise of transparency and make it password-protected.

Vandals in Pakistan have damaged the signboard at the Supreme Court, which hangs on the boundary wall of the apex court. The signboard usually reads 'Supreme Court of Pakistan.' But vandals have removed select alphabets to make it read like a political slogan 'PM out of Pakistan'. According to the sources, SC registrar Tahir Shahbaz, who is currently in Lahore, took notice of the incident when a television channel showed images of the vandalised signboard.   The SC registrar also sought an explanation from security officials, who are supposed to be on guard at the SC premises.  

On Friday, construction topped out at 432 Park, a luxury condominium that's now arguably the tallest building in New York city. It even has the new One World Trade Center beat, not counting that building's spire. At 1,396 feet, 432 Park towers above a row of super-tall buildings rising on the southern end of Central Park. The building, which cost $1.3 billion to construct, has two penthouses, one on the 96th floor that sold for $95 million and another on the 95th, currently priced at $85 million.

A tired and pensive Prithviraj Chavan in an interview conceded that the compulsions of power politics had prevented him from taking anti-corruption action and that a crackdown could have brought down his coalition government and decimated the Congress.

After cyclone Hudhud ravaged Andhra and Odisha on Sunday, residents of the areas are now scrambling for food and water. The residents complain that there is an acute shortage of water in the area. Reports stated that a bottle of water was being sold for Rs 250 while a packet of milk was being sold for Rs 100.   Petrol pumps have also remained shut after the cyclone causing an acute need for fuel. 

The daughters of US President Barack Obama and a Nobel laureate have made Time's annual list of most influential teenagers. First daughters Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13; Grammy-winning New Zealand singer Lorde, 17; and Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai, 17, the Pakistani education activist winner, were all on the unranked list dominated by 20 females.

Electricity supply to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan's residence has been cut off for not paying bills. According to Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Khan had not paid his electricity bills for past two months. Power supply to Khan's residence has been disconnected because of unpaid bills. The bills for three meters connected at the leader's residence amount to Rs 87,637, Rs 28,955 and Rs 14,174. Officials said that the bills for three meters of September and August remained unpaid despite a notice served to Khan warning against disconnection of power supply at his Bani Gala residence in case bills were not paid

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday a nuclear deal with the West was bound to happen and he believed it could be achieved by a November 24 deadline.

Jihadists fought their way into central Ain al-Arab in heavy clashes with the Syrian border town's Kurdish defenders Monday, as Turkey denied giving permission to the U.S. to use an airbase on its soil for coalition airstrikes against ISIS.

Hundreds of people opposed to the pro-democracy demonstrations here attacked the protesters' main camp on Monday, trying to tear down street barricades that have choked traffic in the city. The police struggled to keep the two sides apart, but warned that they, too, were determined to clear the roadblocks over the protesters' objections.

The French and US presidents Francois Hollande and Barack Obama today called for "stepped-up" international efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic ravaging three west African countries.

British lawmakers were to vote today on whether to recognise Palestine as a state in a debate unlikely to change government policy but laden with political symbolism. 

Cameroon's President Paul Biya today vowed his government would go after the Islamist group Boko Haram "until it's totally wiped out". He made the promise as he received 10 Chinese and 17 Cameroonians freed last week after spending months as hostages of armed men thought to belong to Boko Haram, an anti-Western rebel group in Nigeria which has been increasingly making incursions into Cameroon.

 Israeli police came under a barrage of rocks and flares from Palestinians in clashes in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest shrine in Islam, on Monday and four protesters were arrested.

 Turkey denied Monday that it has reached any "new agreement' with the United States to allow the use of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey for attacks on the Islamic State militant group, despite suggestions from the Obama administration that a deal had been reached.

Jihadists today fought their way into central Kobane in heavy clashes with the Syrian border town's Kurdish defenders, ahead of a Washington meeting of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group. 

An Algerian air force plane crashed today in the south of the country during a training exercise, killing the two soldiers on board, the defence ministry said. 

Thousands of people lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue on Monday for the annual Columbus Day parade, one of the world's largest celebrations of Italian-American heritage and culture.

Stunning news came from Rome today where the bishops gathered for Pope Francis's Synod on the Family issued a report suggesting that the Church should create a more inclusive space for gay Catholics to participate in the life of the Church.

Three bombings within an hour today rocked Shiite neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital as people filled the streets, distributing sweets for the Eid al-Ghadir Muslim feast, leaving at least 22 dead. 

Three bombings within an hour today rocked Shiite neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital as people filled the streets, distributing sweets for the Eid al-Ghadir Muslim feast, leaving at least 22 dead. 

A 38-year-old Indian woman allegedly embezzled a sum of over USD 67,000 from her employer, of whose bank account she had an access to, Saudi media reported today. 

Syria's main opposition bloc failed to agree on a prime minister during a weekend summit in Turkey, participants said, the latest setback for a coalition long beset by internal divisions. 

Belgium's new interior minister today sparked uproar after saying that Flemish collaborators with the Nazi occupiers in World War II "had their reasons", touching a raw nerve in a sharply divided country. 

Dozens of masked men rushed barricades at Hong Kong's main pro-democracy site today, sparking renewed accusations that authorities are using hired thugs to disperse demonstrators.