The US commander in Afghanistan warns troops' lives will be at risk if a Florida church goes ahead with its plan to throw copies of the Koran into a bonfire, but the pastor behind the stunt defends it.
France is experiencing major disruption because of a nationwide strike over pension reform, with parliament also debating a ban on full face veils and a security bill.
The army is conducting joint patrols with the police in Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri after a wave of killings blamed on the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.
Pilots, firefighters, nurses and ambulance workers gather 70 years after battling through eight months of bombing raids over Britain's industrial centres.
The role of the gambling syndicates that can make millions from the outcome of a single game has been highlighted by the allegation that three Pakistani cricket players were involved in a betting scam.