Maoist rebels kill at least 24 Indian paramilitary soldiers

Maoist rebels killed at least 24 Indian paramilitary soldiers and injured six others in their stronghold in central India on Monday in one of the worst attacks on the country's security forces in recent years, police said.

The rebels fired from hilltops at a group of paramilitary soldiers who were guarding workers building roads in a forested area of Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state, police officer Vishwaranjan said.

The government has been trying to improve roads in the dense jungles of Chhattisgarh to make it easier for security forces to pursue the rebels.

Queen Elizabeth II turns 91 with day at the horse races

Britain marked Queen Elizabeth II's 91st birthday on Friday with gun salutes, as the monarch herself enjoyed a family day and a trip to the races.

The queen, who owns and breeds racehorses, was spotted smiling broadly and chatting animatedly Friday with jockeys and staff at Newbury Racecourse, not far from her Windsor Castle home.

She visited the racecourse with daughter Princess Anne and sat in the royal box to watch her thoroughbred Maths Prize run; it finished fifth.

Paris police shot on Champs-Elysees; IS group claims attack

A gunman opened fire on police on Paris' iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard Thursday night, killing one officer and wounding three people before police shot and killed him. The Islamic State group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, which hit just three days before a tense presidential election.

Security already has been a dominant theme in the campaign, and the violence on the sparkling avenue threatened to weigh on voters' decisions. Candidates canceled or rescheduled final campaign events ahead of Sunday's first round vote.

India ruling party leaders face trial in 1992 mosque attack

India's top court on Wednesday ordered four senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to stand trial over a 1992 attack on an ancient mosque that sparked Hindu-Muslim violence that killed thousands.

A lower court had earlier dropped conspiracy charges against the four in a case that has languished in India's sluggish legal system for almost 25 years.

US drops 'mother of all bombs' on Islamic State tunnel

U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with "the mother of all bombs," the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials said.

The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives. When it was developed in the early 2000s, the Pentagon did a formal review of legal justification for its combat use.

The Pentagon said it had no early estimate of deaths or damage caused by its attack, which President Donald Trump called a "very, very successful mission."

Ocean world near Saturn top contender for life beyond Earth

A tiny, ice-encrusted ocean world orbiting Saturn is now a hotter-than-ever candidate for potential life.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected hydrogen molecules in the geysers shooting off the moon Enceladus, possibly the result of deep-sea chemical reactions between water and rock that could spark microbial life, scientists announced Thursday.

NASA and others are quick to point out this latest discovery does not mean there's life on Enceladus (ehn-SEHL'-uh-duhs), but that there may be conditions favorable for life.

Chase pays off as Mumbai beats Sunrisers in IPL by 4 wickets

The chasing team at Wankhede Stadium won for the sixth straight Indian Premier League game as Mumbai Indians beat defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets on Wednesday.

Mumbai won the toss and opted to field in what turned out to be a wise decision, given the recent success of teams batting second at this ground. Sunrisers made 158-8 off 20 overs, with only openers Shikhar Dhawan (48) and David Warner (49) achieving significant scores. Man-of-the-match Jasprit Bumrah took 3-24 as Sunrisers' middle-order collapsed. Harbhajan Singh also did some damage with 2-23, including the important wicket of Warner, who had smashed seven fours and two sixes.