World Cup final: Germany defeats Argentina in extra time

(CNN) -- Never bet against Germany.

In a world where so much can change so quickly, perhaps it is reassuring that there is one constant which remains.

The nation which had ripped Brazil's dreams to shreds in the semifinals, won its fourth World Cup after a tense 1-0 victory over Argentina Sunday.

Mario Gotze's strike, seven minutes from the end of extra time, ensured Germany ended its 24-year wait for glory at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium.

For all the doubters who said that no European side would or could ever win the World Cup on South American soil, there was one team which refused to listen......................

 World Cup-2014 Champion Germany

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(Reuters) - Germany won the World Cup for the fourth time on Sunday when substitute Mario Goetze volleyed in a brilliant goal seven minutes from the end of extra time to secure a 1-0 victory over Argentina at the Maracana.

The game had seemed destined for penalties until fellow substitute Andre Schuerrle escaped down the left and sent in a cross that Goetze controlled on his chest before slamming home.

"We’re going to celebrate for at least five weeks now," said Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. "At some point we’ll stop celebrating but we’ll always keep waking up with a smile.

"We did it and it's unbelievable. In the preparation we had some setbacks. We have to think of the guys not here. They are world champions now too," he added

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MARITIME DISPUTE WITH INDIA Bangladesh gets 19,467sq km area in Bay

MARITIME DISPUTE WITH INDIA

Bangladesh gets 19,467sq km area in Bay

Settling a longstanding India-Bangladesh maritime boundary dispute, a Hague-based international court has awarded Bangladesh 19,467square kilometres out of 25,602 sq km disputed area in the Bay of Bengal.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali disclosed this at a press briefing in the afternoon.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) delivered the verdict after nearly five years of argument and counter argument by the two nations, spot visit by judges and examination of survey reports................

A Gunman Demanded to Know Ex-Wife's Whereabouts

 A man charged with killing four children and their parents forced his way into the family's suburban Houston home, tied them up and shot them in the back of the head when they refused to tell him where his ex-wife was, authorities said Thursday.

The lone survivor of the attack, the slain couple's 15-year-old daughter, suffered a fractured skull when a bullet grazed her head. She played dead and called 911 after Ronald Lee Haskell left the house, prosecutors revealed at a court hearing.

A day after the slayings, investigators slowly built a picture of Haskell, who was the couple's estranged brother-in-law.........................

Spying Issue: Cold War Among Berlin, Washington, Moscow and Markus R.

Spying Issue: Cold War Among Berlin, Washington, Moscow and Markus R.

For this year's Independence Day bash the U.S. embassy in Germany picked the historic Tempelhof airport where an allied air lift 66 years ago kept Berlin's citizens from starving during Soviet leader Josef Stalin's blockade.

After a year scarred by the revelations of mass U.S. spying on Germans, the Americans had hoped to toast U.S.-German friendship with rock music, ribs, burgers and beer.

But that morning news had broken that Germany's Federal Prosecutor had arrested Markus R., a 31-year old employee of Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND), on suspicion of spying for the Americans........