Nepal: 'Nepal MPs begin historic session. The Nepalese parliament has held its first meeting in four years in the capital, Kathmandu.' (BBC)

Yemen: 'Eight jail tunnel escapees now in custody. Yemen's government said Thursday that eight of the men who staged a daring escape from prison earlier this year have been captured or surrendered.' (CNN)

Nepal: 'Nepal Maoist rebels declare truce. Nepal's Maoist rebels have announced a three-month unilateral truce, after street protests forced the country's monarch to restore parliament.' (BBC)

Eqypt: 'Blasts near peacekeeping base in Egypt. Two suicide bombers attempted to attack a multinational force vehicle and a police command post in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, an Egyptian government spokesman says.' (CNN)

Nepal: 'Nepalis celebrate protest victory. Thousands of Nepalis have held a victory rally in the capital Kathmandu after the king gave in to their demands to reinstate parliament.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Protesters in Nepal step up pressure on the King. They were dancing in the streets of Kathmandu yesterday. Teenagers danced perilously on the roofs of minibuses as they drove down the streets with their horns blaring and flags waving from every window.' (Independent)

Sri Lanka: 'Sri Lanka airstrikes after bombing. Hours after a suicide bomber targeted a military convoy, severely injuring the commander of Sri Lankan forces, the country's air force mounted airstrikes on rebel positions, raising concerns that a nearly four-year-old cease-fire with Tamil Tiger rebels has ended.' (CNN)

India: 'Six killed in India rebel attack. Suspected Maoist rebels have killed six people, including a politician, in an ambush in the northern Indian state of Bihar, officials have said.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'King Gyanendra of Nepal announced he was recalling parliament last night in a dramatic last-minute attempt to stave off massive protests planned for today.' (Independent)

Egypt: 'Bombs kill at least 21 in attacks on Red Sea tourists.' (Telegraph)

Bangledesh: 'Strike brings Bangladesh to halt. Police charge protesters in Dhaka during Sunday's strike. Bangladesh has been brought to a virtual standstill by the second general strike in a week. There have been clashes in the capital, Dhaka.' (BBC)

Bangledesh: 'Strike brings Bangladesh to halt.Police charge protesters in Dhaka during Sunday's strike Bangladesh has been brought to a virtual standstill by the second general strike in a week. There have been clashes in the capital, Dhaka.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Police open fire on Nepal lawyers. Police in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, have opened fire on a group of lawyers protesting against King Gyanendra.' (BBC)

Iraq: 'Blast kills 25 near Iraqi mosque. A car bomb has killed 25 people and injured about 60 at a Shia mosque in a town close to the Iraq city of Baquba. (BBC)

China: 'China hosts first Buddhism forum. Buddhists from more than 30 countries are in China for the World Buddhist Forum - communist China's first international religious gathering.' (BBC)

Sri Lanka: 'Fears for peace talks as 14 die in bombings. At least 14 people were killed in Sri Lanka yesterday in two bombings and riots, just a week ahead of peace talks to prevent the island sliding back into civil war.' (Independent)

Nepal: 'Nepal arrests as protests continue. Police in Nepal have arrested 25 journalists and five human rights activists as pro-democracy demonstrations calling for the country's king to step down stretched into a week.' (CNN)

Iraq: 'Iraqi politicians failed to reach an agreement Tuesday in discussions on a new prime minister as violence claimed more American and Iraqi lives.' (CNN)

Sri Lanka: 'Fresh Sri Lanka attack kills two. Two policemen have been killed and two others injured in a landmine attack on their vehicle in north-eastern Sri Lanka, police say.' (BBC)

Pakistan: 'Pakistan probes deadly bombings. Police in Pakistan are investigating a suspected double suicide bombing that killed at least 57 people at a festival held in honour of the Prophet Muhammad.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Nepal defies shoot-on-sight curfew. Nepal security police have opened fire on protesters in the Nepalese capital -- injuring dozens -- on the sixth day of demonstrations calling on the country's king to step down from power.' (CNN)

India: 'Hours after a devastating fire swept through a trade fair in Meerut in northern India, the city appears unusually calm.' (BBC)

Afghanistan: 'Children killed in Afghan attack. At least six children have been killed and 14 others injured after a rocket hit their school in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'In pictures: Protests in Nepal' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Police in Nepal opened fire on protesters demonstrating against the rule of the king, killing at least three. Thousands of Nepalis had defied a curfew in Kathmandu and other cities and took to the streets to demand King Gyanendra give up the absolute powers he seized last year. Anyone breaking the curfew would be shot on sight on sight, police had warned Opposition parties announced a one-day general strike and said protest rallies against the King would continue indefinitely.' (Independent)

Pakistan: 'Pakistan stampede kills 29. More than 70 injured at Karachi religious gathering. A stampede killed at least 29 women and children and injured more than 70 others in this southern Pakistani port city Sunday as thousands filed out of a religious seminar to mark the birth of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, police and doctors said.' (CNN)

Iraq: 'Bombs kill 4 on Iraq's 'Freedom Day'. On the third anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi authorities found the bodies of five men who appeared to be the latest victims of sectarian violence, and four civilians died in insurgent bomb blasts.' (CNN)

Iraq: 'Baghdad mosque attack 'kills 51'. At least 51 people have been killed and 158 injured in an apparent triple suicide bomb attack on a key Shia mosque in Baghdad, police have said.' (BBC)

Pakistan: 'Pakistan clash death toll rises. The number of militants killed in an army operation in Pakistan's tribal North Waziristan region has risen to 40, the army says.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Scores arrested in Nepal protest. At least 150 anti-government protesters have been arrested in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, as a campaign against King Gyanendra gathers pace.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Nepalese opposition begin strike. Opposition parties in Nepal say police have detained dozens of their leaders and workers on the first day of their four-day general strike.' (BBC)

Israel: 'Fatah legacy puts Hamas under financial pressure. The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, already facing a tightening diplomatic and economic squeeze, is having to decide whether to confirm the recruitment of 18,000 security service personnel enacted in the three months before it took office.' (Independent)

Thailand: 'Protests force Thai PM to stand down in face-saving compromise. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stunned the nation last night by crumbling under mounting pressure to quit and agreeing to relinquish power, despite winning Sunday's snap election with 57 per cent of the vote. Mr Thaksin, twice elected prime minister by landslide margins, dropped his post-election bombshell in an abruptly announced speech on national television. "I am sorry that I will not accept the premier post," he said in a subdued voice. But the man referred to by Bangkok's metropolitan elite as a "square-faced tyrant" will not be leaving office immediately.'(Independent)

Nepal: 'Nepal government rejects truce.The government says rebels plan to infiltrate the rally. The Nepalese government has dismissed a move by Maoist rebels to suspend armed action in the capital, Kathmandu, for an indefinite period.' (BBC)

China: 'Is China ready to welcome home the Dalai Lama? The Dalai Lama could be on the verge of a historic visit to the remote, mountainous homeland that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has not seen for nearly 50 years, following indications from the Chinese government that dialogue may, at last, be leading to a rapprochement.' (Independent)

Thailand: 'Activists press Thai PM to quit. Thai opposition activists have called on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to resign or face fresh street protests.' (BBC)

Thailand: 'Thaksin claims Thai election win. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says his party won more than 50% of the vote in a snap election he hoped would end a crisis over corruption claims.' (BBC)

Turkey: 'Three killed in Turkey bus attack. A group of men stopped a passenger bus and tossed gasoline bombs at it, sending the vehicle careening into pedestrians and killing three in Turkey's largest city on Sunday as pro-Kurdish riots continued to spread.' (CNN)

Nepal: 'Nepal rebels call a partial truce. Nepal's Maoist rebels say they are suspending armed action in the capital, Kathmandu, for an indefinite period.' (BBC)