Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 13 images.
Noting that tax evasion is not a criminal offence in Switzerland, a senior Swiss official has acknowledged differences with India on what can be made public about Indians having unaccounted money parked in Swiss banks.
A 50-year-old Indian, who was residing illegally in the United States, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a court for conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to Lebanese group Hezbollah.
United States President Barack Obama ordered tighter security at American diplomatic posts around the world following the attack on the consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens and the the embassy in Cairo. Security threats to US diplomatic missions overseas have always been a concern. Rediff.com takes a look at the dark history of American embassies and consulates abroad.
What's worse than watching someone take a million selfies?
The medals tally at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Swaraj is in Bahrain for a two-day visit to attend the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum to be held on Sunday.
Sanctions against North Korea following its H-bomb test could have serious repercussions and may prove disastrous for all the players involved, says Debalina Ghoshal.
'India simply wasn't prepared for the fact that a natural-born American could be organising a major terror plot in their country. And they didn't look for people like him.' 'Headley is one of the most complex and interesting terrorists of the last many years.'
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
The foundations of the army's own peculiar secularism are potentially being destabilised
Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie, often billed as the 'most beautiful woman on the planet', is doing some amazing work as a special envoy for the United Nations's body for the refugees, the UNHCR. The ravishing actress, who has covered some of the most troubled regions in the world with a message of compassion, is currently on a humanitarian mission in Lebanon to meet with Syrian refugees.
The United Nations has expressed regret that noted human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin will not be able to serve on an independent inquiry commission that will investigate possible human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Fifty soldiers lost their lives in the Siachen Glacier due to climatic conditions and avalanches in the last three years while 16 soldiers died while serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations during that period, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
Here's your weekly digest of odd photos from around the world.
Vowing not to bow under international pressures, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel "will act with all power" in its offensive to stop rocket attacks on its land from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
The United States has hoped its National Security Agency surveillance on the Bharatiya Janata Party, revelation of which has highly been objected by New Delhi, would not have an adverse impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Reacting strongly to reports of Bharatiya Janata Party being spied upon by US National Security Agency, India on Wednesday summoned a top US diplomat in New Delhi to raise the issue, saying it was "totally unacceptable" that an Indian organisation or Indian individual's privacy was transgressed upon.
America's top spy agency, the National Security Agency was authorised by a United States court in 2010 to carry out surveillance on the Bharatiya Janata Party along with five other political organisations across the globe, including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Pakistan Peoples Party, according to a classified document.
North West India is what the ISIS is aiming at in its map of the caliphate. However, many Indian Muslims feel that the jihadists are making a mockery out of Islam. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Rediff.com presents a slideshow on how people of the region are coping with the rare December snow.
These images from across the globe tell that it is a crazy world out there!
Eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives while serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations last year, are among 106 military, police and civilian personnel to be posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal this week for their courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.
The Islamic State group has released a video showing the beheading of US aid worker Peter Kassig in a warning to Washington as it prepares to send more troops to Iraq.
Kabir Khan's next Phantom starring Katrina Kaif and Saif Ali Khan to release next year.
Actress Angelina Jolie Pitt has strongly criticised the UN Security Council for its lack on unity and political will on resolving the Syrian crisis, stating that the powerful body has the power to address the dire situation but "those powers lie unused".
The best of India and the Middle East, now at the Dharamsala Film Festival.
The latest update is on Zomato's fourth acquisition overseas this year.
Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.
European governments have stepped up diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurance that his country has no intention to annexe the Crimean peninsula or to wage a war against its neighbour.
Rediff.com takes a look at Ramzan feasting and some lip-smacking special delicacies from around the world.
Amid escalation in violence in a number of Gulf countries, India on Thursday expressed deep concern over the rise of fanaticism, extremism and terrorism in parts of the Arab region, saying they are tearing apart the fabric of societies as well as affecting regional stability.
The Miss Universe 2011 pageant is fast approaching on September 12. In a countdown to D-Day, we're introducing you to all 89 contestants from around the world.
The United States has asked Taliban to put down arms and begin peace talks as it condemned the suicide attack on a popular Kabul restaurant that killed 21 people, including several foreign nationals.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was facing "imminent" death with doctors pessimistic about his life-threatening condition, the hospital where he has been in coma since a 2006 stroke said on Sunday.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since 2006, is in a critical condition after "serious deterioration" in his health with vital organs failing over the past few days, his doctor said on Thursday.
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Both the Greek and Iranian deals are extremely imperfect and fraught with uncertainty, says Claude Smadja.