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At the Syrian peace talks, government and opposition representatives held their first face-to-face discussion about a political transition — but by the end of the day, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi had no progress to report. He urged both sides to focus on the desperate humanitarian situation facing Syrians in several besieged cities.

Allegations that a young woman in India was gang-raped on the orders of an informal "Village Council" have sparked outrage across India. The woman was apparently punished for having relations with a man from outside her community. Critics have called for a crackdown on village councils, saying that they are based in a traditional and outdated concept of morality and that they undermine India's established law.

Alan Cheuse reviews Roddy Doyle's latest novel, The Guts. The book revisits some of the characters from Doyle's debut hit, The Commitments.

Serving chicken, pigeon or duck for the holiday may be harder this year for some families in China and Hong Kong. As the deadly H7N9 virus continues to spread, officials in China have closed many live poultry markets, while agricultural workers in Hong Kong plan to cull thousands of chickens this week.

The oPhone device (the "o" is for olfactory) will be able to send and receive whiffs of preprogrammed aromas remotely. Created by a Harvard professor, it's intended to add the sense of smell to the way we communicate.

The court was unconvinced that Glass had changed his ways. Glass, the court said, failed to prove that he was of good moral character as the law requires.

Also: Bookslut launches the Daphnes award; the life of the English literature adjunct; publisher arrested in China.

If a couple divorces, each person's eligibility for insurance-related tax credits will generally be based on his or her own annual income. The former spouse's income won't be counted, even if the couple filed taxes jointly the previous year.

China's rapid growth has been fueled in large part by rampant borrowing. Local governments have racked up nearly $3 trillion in debt. Experts say such growth isn't sustainable, but the Communist Party controls the banking system, so defaults aren't likely.

Punishments, which were chosen by spinning a roulette wheel, included a "20 second Manny Pacquiao" in which suspects were punched for 20 seconds, according to Amnesty International. The practice allegedly was used on more than 40 detainees, mostly suspected drug traffickers.