Rediff.com lists a few other dramatic and frightful hostage situations that sent governments and security agencies into a tizzy.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
The graffiti painted on the wall of the Gurdwara in Southern California on July 29 has once again proved that Sikhs are a target of mistaken identity, says president of Riverside Gurdwara.
"We've vetting very, very strongly. Very, very strongly. But we need help, and we need help by getting that executive order passed," he said.
Foreign students knowingly enrolled in the fake school to falsely maintain their student visa status and remain in the US, according to prosecutors.
Trump also announced the appointment of Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency -- the first woman selected for the agency's top post.
White House said Trump strongly believed that protecting environment and 'promoting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals'.
Pressure had been building on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president, Thomas Bach, with some athletes and sporting bodies angry that a seemingly inevitable decision had taken so long.
The incredible demand to be a part of Indian-American history in greeting Prime Minister Modi has pushed us to find more ways to let the community participate.
'It is an unpleasant fact of history that stronger nations dominate the power play and the only way it can be mitigated is through recourse to diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Leaders of the two countries, however, did discuss on Pakistan's nuclear safety and security which is an ongoing discussion.
The Opposition must understand that while 2024 may draw mileage from the growing resentment towards the BJP, the real battle and proof of how well India learnt from its disastrous dalliance with the Right-wing, will be in 2029, observes Shyam G Menon.
Trump aides, who participated in the two-day talks held at the US President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, described the meetings as productive and said the two leaders exhibited "positive" chemistry.
Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the United States to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.
Biden said, "One of the reasons why President Obama called our relations with India, quote, "a defining partnership of the century ahead" is that India is increasingly looking east as a force for security and growth in Southeast Asia and beyond."
In the years to come, India's space assets will play a much bigger role if and when hostilities break out on our borders, says Pallava Bagla.
Security officials on Wednesday revealed that suspected operative of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence Mohammed Zaheed Hussain, who was arrested days before the twin blasts in Chennai, was part of a larger mission to target critical national assets and some foreign establishments.
Reaffirming his commitment to destroy the Islamic State, United States President Barack Obama said America will destroy any militant organisation that tried to harm its people but ruled out sending large scale troops on the ground as done in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq.
'If there's one administration that would be likely to put the squeeze on Pakistan, it's the Trump administration.' 'This is an administration that views terrorists as a black and white issue (kill them all, no questions asked), and will have little patience for Pakistan's selective policy toward terrorism.'
New Delhi and Beijing are the only two regional capitals that have commented on US President Donald Trump's speech on August 21 outlining the way forward in Afghanistan. The Indian foreign ministry statement was effusive in praise, while the Chinese statement has been one of cautious and guarded hope. Delhi has identified itself with Trump's Afghan strategy, whereas the Chinese stance is calibrated -- observant and objective, keeping a distance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
China has been keeping tabs on the restive Tibet province through a 'grid' system and some 600 'convenience police posts' armed with high-tech equipment that monitor the daily life of the citizens of Lhasa and other Tibetan towns. Worse, 'volunteer security groups' known as 'Red Armband Patrols' are roaming around in order to get more information and 'classify' each and every citizen, says Claude Arpi
A health care worker from the United States of America has been diagnosed with Ebola after treating a patient who died of the deadly disease last week, sending officials scrambling to find the "breach in protocol" that resulted in her infection - the first case contracted on American soil.
Trump said that he and Putin are planning to have more meetings in the future.
Prime Minister Khan, in his address, said Pakistan will never fight any other country's war in future and his government's foreign policy will be in the best interest of the nation.
'The diplomat's arrest has led to a major diplomatic spat, the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly three decades of covering the US-India relationship, says Aziz Haniffa. 'The knee-jerk reaction by the powers-that-be in Delhi was myopic to say the least.'
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton will hand over her private email server, she used while serving as secretary of state, to the United States justice department to cooperate with the government's security inquiry.
In a debacle for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, Republicans today gained control of the United States Senate and increased its majority in the House of Representatives in a sweeping midterm election win that could complicate the President's final two years in office.
The US president's tweet provoked sharp criticism from commentators who saw it as a piece of opportunism at London's expense.
The National Investigation Agency, probing the conspiracy angle in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, will be holding a video conferencing with the US's Department of Justice for providing "limited access" to alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana.
'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.'
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
Clinton has blamed her presidential election loss on the "unprecedented" events of Russian cyber hacking and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into her use of her personal e-mail server.
The leaders said trade ties were still fragile
An unmanned private rocket contracted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration to carry cargo into the space has exploded seconds after its launch along the eastern Virginia coast of the United States.
A consortium of three US-based firms - AECOM, KPMG and IBM - was given the task of developing the master plan.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Aseem Chhabra lists his 10 favourite non-Indian shows streaming in India -- classics as well as recent shows.
The US also blasted China and Russia for not joining hands with the international community in their efforts to combat the North Korean threat.
Having reached the Red Planet, ISRO can now focus on getting humans in space and secure the resources to do it
