Acute shortages of coal at power plants have triggered a severe energy crisis — which threatens to hit the nation's economic recovery.

India invested heavily in Afghanistan's development projects after the 2001 US invasion of the country. It is unclear what impact the Taliban's return to power will have on these projects.

“If McDonald’s can do it for hamburgers, why can’t we do it for eye care?”, thought the founder of Aravind Eye Hospital in 1976. Five decades later, inspired by processes implemented by the fast food giant, the Indian hospital chain performs around 500,000 surgeries a year -- many for free. -- This story is being published to coincide with World Sight Day.

The missionaries had been heading home from building an orphanage when they were pulled off a bus by a gang, according to media reports. Haiti has witnessed more than 300 kidnappings already this year.

A couple in India's southern state of Kerala use a large cooking pot borrowed from a temple to get through floodwaters and reach their wedding venue. The southern state has been hit by days of heavy rain, triggering landslides and floods that have claimed at least 27 lives.

A court convicts a German man of passing the floor plans of properties used by the Bundestag to Russian intelligence.

A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman's Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring 17 people as many party-goers headed into the city center for Halloween gatherings, media reported.

The boy had stolen the cannabis from his father and, along with friends, set it alight, police said. The father is being investigated for drug possession.

Aaron Beck's work revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of depression and other psychological disorders. His daughter said he died peacefully in his home in Philadelphia.

A day earlier, police announced that the 4-year-old girl Cleo had been found "alive and well," prompting nationwide relief.

With 11 million inhabitants, the Indian city of Bangalore has seen its size increase in a very short space of time. Nicknamed the Indian Silicon Valley, its rivers and lakes are now the city's unofficial sewers and are used by locals as dumping grounds for all kinds of waste. Out of the 850 lakes in Bangalore, more than 500 are extremely polluted. But one man, Anand Malligawad, has set himself an ambitious goal: to clean up Bangalore's lakes, one by one. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.

A 60-year-old fisherman found himself fighting for his life after a crocodile pulled him into a river. Authorities said the man was "lucky to be alive." He even drove himself to the nearest hospital afterward.