Damascus: At least 250 civilians have been killed by shelling and air strikes in Syria's Eastern Ghouta in the past 48 hours, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Tuesday.

Jerusalem: Israel's Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the Palestine's West Bank city on Monday, and called on to renew the long-stalled peace talks.

Jerusalem: In the third consecutive day of exchanges of fire, Israeli warplanes attacked an underground infrastructure in the Gaza Strip on Monday hours after a rocket was launched at Israel from Palestinian territory, the military said.

Baghdad: An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced a Turkish woman to death and 10 other foreign women to life imprisonment for joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

New Delhi:  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani was greeted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ram Nath Kovind today on the last of his three-day visit of the country. PM Modi said India-Iran ties have strengthened under Mr Rouhani's leadership. "We want to increase connectivity and trade. We want to strengthen our strong cultural ties. Landlocked Afghanistan has got a golden gateway in Chabahar... We will support the rail link," PM Modi said. India and Iran also signed nine agreements, including on easing visa rules and cooperation on medical sector, apart from a maritime agreement on Chabahar Port development. Mr Rouhani's visit comes a month after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was here, indicating India's delicate balancing act.

Brussels: A Belgian court has ordered Facebook to stop collecting data of users or face a daily penalty of 250,000 euros. The court found the social media site guilty of breaching Belgium's privacy laws.

New York: An Indian-American maths teacher is being hailed for saving the lives of her students during the shooting rampage at a Florida, high school that left 17 dead.

Kabul: More than 10,000 civilians were killed or injured in violent attacks in Afghanistan last year, the UN has said.