Authorities in the US have rescued a 20-year-old Indian student, who was held captive for months without access to a bathroom, viciously beaten, and forced to work at three homes by his cousin and two other men in an incident described as "absolutely inhumane and unconscionable."

Israeli fighter jets hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday shortly after a weeklong truce expired, the military said, as the war resumed in full force.

The US has welcomed as "good and appropriate" India's decision to announce a high-level probe into its allegations that an Indian official was involved in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil and said it is looking forward to seeing the results.

Amritsar: Anju, an Indian mother of two children who travelled to Pakistan to marry her Facebook friend, returned to India through the Wagah-Attari border on Wednesday, officials said.

Kathmandu: Five months after the Supreme Court legalised it, Nepal on Wednesday formally registered the first case of same-sex marriage, making it the first South Asian country to do so.

Renowned singer Lucky Ali triggered a wave of controversy on Thursday after expressing his desire to visit Palestine.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100.

Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to extend their cease-fire by another day, just minutes before it was set to expire. The truce in Gaza appeared increasingly tenuous as the number of women and children held by the fighters as bargaining chips dwindled after dozens were released.