It is also unclear what the cabinet secretaries and other officials, along with the Air Force members working on the plane, knew of the operation. Members of the press have said they were not aware that they were on a decoy flight.

Various ruses, often referred to as "shell games" by Secret Service personnel, are common.

Identical versions of the president's heavily armoured limousine, for example, often switch positions in motorcades, as do helicopters transporting the president in the air.

More elaborate operations often take

Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families in their homes in the occupied West Bank since Sunday, with the families saying their supplies were running out and rights groups urging the authorities to step in.

On Wednesday Israeli security forces were reported to have withdrawn from the Jewish settler outpost in the village of Qusra near Nablus, following clashes with a crowd of extremist settlers. About a dozen settlers are said to remain at the site.

After the Palestinian homeowners made their initial report to the Israeli army, the first soldiers who arrived

US prices rose 3.4% in the year to July, slightly lower than the 3.5% in the year to June, new figures show.

Energy remained volatile as the Middle East conflict has continued. While gasoline prices were down 2.9% in July compared to June, they were up 24.6% over the year.

Month to month, inflation rose 0.1%, mainly due to an increase in housing costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Even small moves in

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, who spearheaded China's entry into global trade and laid the foundation for its explosive growth, has died at the age of 97.

He served in the country's second-highest office from 1998-2003 and played a leading role in securing its entry into the World Trade Organization, opening Chinese factories to the international market and drawing foreign investment.

He was one of the most important economic reformers who moved local tax powers to the central government,

The bodies of two World War Two German soldiers have been found in Budapest's Danube river, due to record-low water levels after an intense drought.

Found alongside their remains were the identification tags of the two soldiers, a largely intact German army Wehrmacht motorcycle, a wedding ring and a Kuban shield - a combat badge of the Wehrmacht, the German War Graves Commission said.

The remarkable finds have sparked hope that some families could finally discover the fates of their ancestors, more than 80 years on from the

A 32-year-old woman, who had been trapped under rubble for 36 hours following the 7.4-magnitude quake which shook western Colombia, has been rescued alive.

Daniela Largo was pulled from beneath a collapsed building in the city of Pereira after a 10-hour-long rescue operation.

Firefighters finally managed to reach her via a tunnel they dug below four concrete slabs under which she had been buried.

At least 188 have died in the quake, according to official figures,

David Crowley is projected to have won a primary election to become the Democrat's candidate for Wisconsin governor, in a surprise result that halts a winning streak for the party's left wing.

With almost all votes counted in the Midwestern state, Crowley, the more centrist candidate, has secured a narrow victory over Francesca Hong, according to a projection made early on Wednesday by the BBC's partner, CBS News.

Anti-establishment Democrats had previously recorded wins across the US that had rattled the party leadership in

N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Group, has said that he will not seek reappointment when his term ends in February.

The 63-year-old said the decision came after the board of Tata Sons could not reach a resolution on a five-year extension of his term, months after the proposal first came up.

The news sent shares of listed Tata companies plunging and has led to questions over what lies ahead for the gigantic salt-to-steel conglomerate that owns Air India, Tata Steel and Jaguar

Singapore and South Korea have pulled Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning from e-commerce platforms because it contains poppy seeds.

While they do not naturally contain opiates, poppy seeds are banned in both countries because they can get contaminated with opiates by fluid in the poppy plant during harvesting.

More than 20 online listings of the popular seasoning have been removed, Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau said on Wednesday.

Last week, Seoul authorities said the seasoning tested positive for morphine and codeine, which are opiates found