Philippines: 'Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the military to help the police stop escalating violence in the run-up to next month's elections.' (BBC).

Israel: 'Ehud Olmert was under growing pressure yesterday to resign after media leaks that an inquiry committee into last summer's Lebanon war is to blame the Israeli Prime Minister for the failure to cut Hizbollah down to size or to bring home the two soldiers whose abduction provoked the 34-day conflict.' (Independent).

Iran / Iraq: 'Iran on Sunday confirmed it will attend this week's conference on Iraq in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, saying its delegation will be headed by its foreign minister.' (CNN).

Turkey: 'Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has vowed to continue in his bid to become the country's next president despite opposition from lawmakers, business leaders and military chiefs and a massive public demonstration in Istanbul on Sunday.' (CNN).

Germany / Turkey: An article on "honour killings" among the Turkish diaspora in Berlin.

Bangladesh: 'Battling begums' warn Bangladesh won't wait for polls' (Independent).

Turkey: 'Rescuers Thursday freed a girl and a man from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed in Istanbul, apparently as construction workers tried to tear down a building next door.' (CNN).

Uzbekistan: 'Pastor Salavat Serikbaev was arrested in Muynak, a city in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, in the middle of last week. He stands accused of three charges “incitement to religious hatred”, “running an illegal religious organisation” and “distributing materials promoting religious extremism”.' (Barnabas Fund).

India: 'Hindu extremists in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have raised the incidence of attacks on believers to an unprecedented high, including a slander campaign against the state’s chief minister, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian.' (Compass Direct).

Israel: 'Israeli police announced Wednesday they are investigating an Israeli-Arab politician suspected of laundering money and passing information to the enemy during Israel's war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon last summer.' (CNN).

Tibet: An article on the Panchen Lama, held prisoner by the Chinese for the last twelve years.

India: 'The Supreme Court of India has admitted a petition seeking action against the distribution of compact discs (CDs) by Hindu extremists that allegedly suggested in 2006 that Christians in Gujarat state should be beheaded.' (Compass Direct).

Philippines: 'Three members of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were wounded when a grenade exploded in front of their office on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, a police official said on Tuesday.' (Reuters).

Gaza / Israel: 'For the first time in five months, the armed wing of Hamas has fired mortars and rockets into Israel from Gaza, breaking an unofficial truce and a period of relative calm along the border.' (CNN).

Vietnam: 'Christian attorneys Nguyen Van Dai and Le thi Cong Nhan are scheduled to be tried on May 11 in a case that appears to have fallen short even of Vietnam’s limited requirements for due process.' (Compass Direct).

Iran: 'Two thousand young men in Iran have protested against new clothing curbs, reports say, amid growing discontent about a crackdown on un-Islamic dress.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'Residents of a Sunni enclave of Baghdad demonstrated and shouted slogans yesterday against a newly built wall sealing off their neighbourhood from the rest of the city.' (Independent).

Nepal: 'Nepal began celebrations on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the end of King Gyanendra's absolute rule, but the political future of the Himalayan nation remains far certain.' (Reuters).

Bangladesh: An analysis of the current situation in the country. (BBC).

Turkey: 'A court yesterday formally arrested and jailed five suspects on charges of murder in the slayings of three Christians at a publishing house in eastern Turkey.' (Independent).

Gaza: 'In the latest in a campaign of attacks on Western and secular targets, masked Muslim gunmen bombed the American International School in the northern Gaza Strip at the weekend, causing damage estimated at more than £100,000.' (Independent).

Pakistan: Protesters are staging their biggest demonstration so far against the suspension of Pakistan's Supreme Court chief justice. (BBC)

Bangladesh: A former Bangladesh prime minister and 45 members of herpolitical alliance have been charged in the killing of four oftheir rivals during riots last year, news report said. (CNN)

Algeria: Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem says parliamentary polls will take place as planned next month despite two bombings in the capital. (BBC)

Algeria: At least 17 people have been killed after at least two blasts rocked Algeria's capital - one exploding near the prime minister's office. (BBC)

Iraq: The International Committee of the Red Cross says the situation for ordinary Iraqis is getting steadily worse. (BBC)

Nepal: The UN in Nepal says it has begun overseeing the storing of weapons held by the army - a key part of the peace process. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Australia is sending special forces commandos back toAfghanistan to hunt down the leaders of the resurgent Taliban aspart of a doubling of Australia's troop numbers there, PrimeMinister John Howard said on Tuesday. (CNN)

India: Two out of every three children in India are physically abused, according to a landmark government study. (BBC)

Kazakhstan: The Kazakh government secures a multi-million dollar World Bank loan to help save the Aral Sea. (BBC)

Pakistan: At least 40 people die and dozens more are wounded in sectarian fighting in north-western Pakistan. (BBC)

Yemen: Attackers spray worshippers with petrol at a Yemen mosque before setting it alight, reports say. (BBC)

Pakistan: The head of a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital threatens to use suicide bomb attacks against the government. (BBC)

Cambodia: Cambodia's government launches the country's first national task force to combat human trafficking. (BBC)

Morocco: Morocco is hosting Africa's first conference to discuss improving the lives of the continent's poorest people. (BBC)

Iran: Fifteen British military personnel detained in Iran for nearly two weeks will leave the country in just a few hours, Iran says."We'd been praying for their release," said the mother of one captive. Another added: "We really will celebrate once I actually see my son on English soil." (CNN)

Syria: Syrian authorities should immediately release six Iranian refugees of Arab ethnicity, or disclose a credible legal basis for detaining them, Human Rights Watch said today. (Human Rights Watch)

Bangladesh: Six Islamist militants were executed in Bangladesh. The militants were convicted of a series of bombings in 2005 that gave rise to fears the country might become a hub for international terrorism. (Economist)

Yemen: A new corruption-busting prime minister is appointed. (Economist)

Qatar: Qatar's emir names his influential foreign minister and cousin as PM, replacing another family member. (BBC)

Iran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 15 British naval personnel captured in the Gulf are free to leave. (BBC)

Iran: A top Iranian security official says his country sees "no need" to put 15 seized British sailors and marines on trial and that the ongoing dispute between Iran and Britain over their captivity can be resolved diplomatically. (CNN)

Afghanistan: At least 88 people are killed and hundreds of homes destroyed after flooding and avalanches in Afghanistan. (BBC)

Iran: Iran and Britain signalled Monday possible ways out of the standoff over 15 detained British soldiers, with Tehran saying it wants to resolve the crisis through diplomacy and Britain expressing willingness to discuss ways to avoid future boundary confusion in the Persian Gulf. (CNN)

Pakistan: Avalanches hit Pakistan's north-western region of Chitral, officials say, burying people in their homes. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Flooding and an avalanche have killed at least 51 people and destroyed hundreds of homes over the last 11 days following warm weather and heavy spring rains across much of Afghanistan, officials said. (CNN)

Nepal: Nepal's parliament re-elected Girija Prasad Koirala as prime minister of a new government on Sunday, which will include former communist rebels as part of a deal ending their decade-long insurgency, officials said. (CNN)

Iran: Ministers are preparing a compromise deal to release 15 British sailors by promising that the Royal Navy will never knowingly enter Iranian waters without permission. (Telegraph)