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Fantômas — even his name is mysterious! The French criminal mastermind starred in a series of 19 deliciously pulpy novels beginning in 1911. Author Rachel Cantor says the series is "part police procedural, part gothic horror story, part courtroom drama, part Sherlockian mystery, part existential potboiler."

In her new book of essays, I See You Made an Effort, comedian Annabelle Gurwitch muses on middle-aged life. Critic Heller McAlpin says that the book, infused throughout with "sharp wit," is hilarious.

Marie Colvin, an American who was the Sunday Times of London's chief war correspondent for a quarter of a century, was killed Wednesday. Colvin was in the embattled Syrian city of Homs and died alongside a French photojournalist and one of Syria's best known citizen journalists. All three died in a district of Homs which has been under bombardment by Syrian government forces since early this month.

CNN talk show host Pier's Morgan testified under oath to a British judicial inquiry into media ethics. Morgan ran Rupert Murdoch's now-folded tabloid News of the World. He left that paper for the Daily Mirror, and his tenure there, too, was marked by scandal.

the past few months, Pakistan's Pakistan's army has lost control of the Swat Valley to the Taliban. It has now launched an operation to win the valley back, but victory will difficult: The Taliban is highly organized, and uses hit-and-run guerrilla tactics.

Nearly a year after President Bush declared the Taliban had been ousted from power, Afghanistan has seen its bloodiest year yet since the American occupation. NPR's Philip Reeves, in Kabul, discusses the Taliban's recent resurgence.

House Republicans nominated a new speaker today, but plenty of party division remains. The tally was 113 to 99 for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who beat out Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.

Pakistan has a democratically elected government, but the power of the army is growing and so is that of the man who runs it.

The Great British Baking Show has had a long and bumpy ride, but it's finally righted the ship by focusing on the fundamentals.

The archbishop of Canterbury says he is embarrassed by revelations that the Church of England indirectly invested in a payday loan firm that he had pledged to put out of business.

It has been a month since an attack in a school in Peshawar killed at least 150 people, mostly school children. On Friday, the country remembered the victims with vigils and demonstrations.

The smart toy sector is worth close to $17 billion. But some parent and consumer support groups say these tech-driven toys are not safe for play.

A U.K. judge ruled against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, finding that the paper used phone hacking to gather information unlawfully on the Duke of Sussex.

Political unrest has broken out in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and other Arab countries. Social media and governmental policies are getting most of the credit for spurring the turmoil, but there's another factor at play.

Revenge attacks are alarming those hoping for a swift transition to peace in Libya. Some villages where loyalists to overthrown dictator Moammar Gadhafi used to live are now abandoned, and locals hope they stay away. As well, militias still have their weapons, and regional rivalries are at play.

Revenge attacks are alarming those hoping for a swift transition to peace in Libya. Some villages where loyalists to overthrown dictator Moammar Gadhafi used to live are now abandoned, and locals hope they stay away. As well, militias still have their weapons, and regional rivalries are at play.

The nation's for-profit colleges and universities received more than $1 billion in benefits from the Post-Sept. 11 GI Bill in the last year alone. But some say the for-profit schools aren't policed well enough — which creates an opening for abuses — and their dropout rates are too high.

The nation's for-profit colleges and universities received more than $1 billion in benefits from the Post-Sept. 11 GI Bill in the last year alone. But some say the for-profit schools aren't policed well enough — which creates an opening for abuses — and their dropout rates are too high.

The class-action suit brought against the hit musical doesn't seek damages. The attorneys say the hope is to draw attention to Broadway's spotty record in serving audiences with disabilities.

It's a rich week for fiction, with new novels from Ann Patchett and Jennifer Weiner, and a debut by Chad Harbach that marries a literary sensibility with a love of baseball — plus Jorie Graham's new poetry collection. In nonfiction, Erik Larson is back with the story of an American ambassador in Germany in 1933.