India's Supreme Court has said that authorities cannot demolish homes merely because a person has been accused of a crime and has laid down strict guidelines for any such action. The ruling comes in response to a number of petitions seeking action against authorities using demolition as a punitive measure against those accused or convicted of crimes. "The executive [the government] cannot become a judge and demolish properties. The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building reminds one of lawlessness where might was right," the Supreme Court said.

It also directed authorities to give sufficient time to the affected person to challenge the order or vacate the property. The ruling comes against a backdrop of a spate of instances, where authorities in states, particularly governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have used demolition as a tool to punish people accused of crimes. While victims include Hindu families, such demolitions have mostly targeted Muslims, especially after religious violence or protests, opposition leaders and activists say.

A US jury awarded $42 million to three former detainees of Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, holding a Virginia-based military contractor responsible for contributing to their torture and mistreatment two decades ago. The decision from the eight-person jury came after a different jury earlier this year couldn't agree on whether Reston, Virginia-based CACI should be held liable for the work of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside the US Army at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004.

The jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa'ad Al-Zubae $3 million each in compensatory damages and $11 million each in punitive damages. The three testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other cruel treatment at the prison. They did not allege that CACI's interrogators explicitly inflicted the abuse themselves, but argued CACI was complicit because its interrogators conspired with military police to "soften up" detainees for questioning with harsh treatment.

Pakistani security forces faced off with insurgents in two separate raids hours apart on their hideouts in two troubled areas in the country killing 12 militants and wounding six others, the military said Wednesday (Nov. 13). Four insurgents were killed in the first raid in Kech, a district in the restive southwestern Balochistan province, it said in a statement. The raid in Balochistan came days after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in the capital, Quetta, killing at least 26 people, including soldiers and railway staff, and wounding about 62 others, some critically.

A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed Saturday's attack, saying the bomber targeted troops present at the railway station. The outlawed BLA has long waged an insurgency seeking independence from Islamabad, and authorities had vowed to eliminate it. The insurgents killed were members of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Protests erupted in Paris on Wednesday against a controversial gala organised by far-right figures in support of Israel. The event, intended to raise funds for the Israeli military, included Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich among its invited guests. The demonstrations came on the eve of a high-stakes soccer match at France's national stadium against the Israeli national team, overshadowed by tensions around the wars in the Middle East. Authorities in Paris announced that more than 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff will be deployed for the game.

Smotrich, a vocal advocate of Israeli settlements, had been expected to attend Wednesday's gala, dubbed "Israel is Forever," which was planned by an association of the same name. The group's stated goal is to "mobilise French-speaking Zionist forces." After days of growing criticism of the event, Smotrich's office confirmed Wednesday that the minister would not travel to Paris to participate.