Cambodia: Judges at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia have begun to question the first of the suspects they say could stand trial. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Second Korean hostage found dead in Afghanistan. (The Independent)

Iraq: About eight million Iraqis -- nearly a third of the population -- are without water, sanitation, food and shelter and need emergency aid, a report by two major relief agencies says. (CNN)

UK: More than a third of British Asians do not feel British, a BBC poll suggests. (BBC)

Iraq: Two thousand Iraqis are fleeing their homes every day. It is the greatest mass exodus of people ever in the Middle East and dwarfs anything seen in Europe since the Second World War. (The Independent)

India: Eight left-wing protesters were shot dead by Indian police during a demonstration in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, officials have said. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Taliban leaders said on Sunday their fighters would kill 22 remaining South Korean hostages if the Afghan government did not release rebel prisoners by a new deadline of 0730 GMT on Monday, a spokesman said. (CNN)

Pakistan: The Pakistani authorities have launched an inquiry into the suicide bombing outside the Red Mosque in Islamabad, in which at least 13 people died. (BBC)

Pakistan: A suicide bomb at a restaurant near Islamabad's Red Mosque on Friday killed 13 people and wounded 61, a Pakistani Interior Ministry spokesman said. (CNN)

Afghanistan: Afghan clerics and tribal elders are negotiating for the release of 22 South Korean hostages, who a Taliban spokesman said Thursday have been split into small groups and are being fed bread, yogurt and rice a week after their capture. (CNN)

Iraq: An international conference in Jordan on the more than two million Iraqi refugees uprooted by war has pledged to help them with their difficulties. (BBC)

Afghanistan: More than 50 insurgents were killed in a 12-hour battle pitting Taliban militants against Afghan security forces and coalition troops in restive southern Afghanistan, the coalition statement released Thursday said. (CNN)

Burma: The people of Burma endure human rights abuses on an unimaginable scale. Rape, torture and forced labour are facts of their lives. So why does the world refuse to act? A cross-party group of MPs has returned shocked by what they discovered there. (The Independent)

Malaysia: The Malaysian government has warned it could use tough anti-terrorism laws against bloggers who insult Islam or the country's king. (BBC)

Afghanistan: One of 23 South Koreans held hostage in Afghanistan by the Taliban has been killed, and militants have threatened to execute 14 others, a local official and a Taliban spokesman told CNN on Wednesday. (CNN)

Pakistan: Pakistan has again said it opposes any military strike by the United States against Osama Bin Laden, if he is confirmed to be in Pakistan. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Kidnapping brings unwanted attention to Afghan Christians. (The Independent)

Turkey: As Turkey's government savoured an overwhelming electoral victory yesterday, regional analysts agreed that the immediate impetus for an invasion of northern Iraq had receded. (The Independent)

Egypt: Egyptian police in Alexandria who last week arrested a Christian convert woman today handed her over to her fanatical Islamist family, who beat her before driving her away. (Compass Direct)

Afghanistan: The former King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, has died at the age of 92 following a long illness. (BBC)

Afghanistan: Afghan negotiators were last night locked in talks with the Taliban to release 23 South Korean Christian missionaries that the fighters have taken hostage and threatened to kill unless a deal is reached today. (The Independent)

Turkey: Turkey's ruling AK Party won a resounding election victory Sunday, giving the pro-business, Islamist-rooted party a mandate for reform but risking fresh tensions with the secular elite. (CNN)

Afghanistan: Security forces have surrounded the location where Taleban fighters are holding 23 South Korean hostages, an Afghan defence ministry official says. (BBC)

Turkey: Polls are to open shortly in Turkey's general election, in what is seen as one of the most important votes in the country's history. (BBC)

Pakistan: Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has said he will fully accept a court decision to reinstate the country's chief justice. (BBC)

India: Pratibha Patil is to become India's first woman president after winning a comprehensive election victory, Indian officials say. (BBC)

India: The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat state has resumed the secret survey of Christian institutions it began eight years ago. Extremists have used such surveys to target religious minorities for violence. (Compass Direct)

Afghanistan: At least 16 South Korean citizens have been abducted by Taleban insurgents in Afghanistan, officials say. (BBC)

Pakistan: General Musharraf cites the extremist threat to justify staying on as Pakistan's president in uniform. (The Economist)

Turkey: A Turkish state prosecutor demanded acquittal yesterday for two Turkish Christians on trial for “insulting Turkishness” under the nation’s controversial Article 301. (Compass Direct)

Pakistan: Bombings kill at least 32 in Pakistan. (CNN)

Turkey/Iraq: Hiding in the high mountains and deep gorges of one of the world's great natural fortresses are bands of guerrillas whose presence could provoke a Turkish invasion of northern Iraq and the next war in the Middle East. (The Independent)

China: 'Hundreds of millions of people are being made ill every year or dying prematurely from pollution caused by China's breakneck economic growth, a leading economic thinktank has concluded following an 18-month investigation' (Guardian).

Afghanistan: 'A suicide bomber targeted a Turkish diplomatic convoy on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, wounding at least one Afghan civilian, police and witnesses said.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'At least 12 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the site where the country's suspended chief justice was scheduled to address a rally, sources in Pakistan told CNN. (CNN).

Libya: 'Libya's highest judicial body said on Tuesday it had commuted the death sentences against six foreign medics to life imprisonment.' (CNN).

Turkey: 'Turks elect a new parliament on Sunday in what has been billed as one of the most important polls of their recent history following a clash between the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party and the nation's secular elite.' (Reuters).

Bangladesh: 'Police in Bangladesh have arrested former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a raid on her house in Dhaka.' (BBC).

Nepal: 'The government of Nepal has said that it will continue to financially support the country's unpopular King Gyanendra.' (BBC).

Iran: 'Most Iranians support nuclear inspections, a democratic government and normal relations with the United States, a poll by a U.S.-based organization has found.' (CNN).

China: 'Hundreds of thousands of villagers in east China's Huai river basin, already suffering the region's worst flooding in 50 years, have been told to brace for more heavy rains this week, state media reported on Monday.' (Reuters).

Nepal: 'Nepal's former Maoist rebels have formally registered as a political party to contest November elections in the restive Himalayan country, the Election Commission said on Monday.' (Reuters).

Israel: 'Israel has proclaimed an amnesty for at least 178 Fatah gunmen on its "wanted" list in the West Bank. Most of them immediately pledged to stop targeting Israel and placed themselves under the supervision of President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian security services.' (Independent).

Pakistan: 'Suicide bombers struck twice in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday killing at least 31 people in two separate attacks as the death toll from a weekend of violence continued to mount.' (CNN).

China: 'China, reeling from a series of health scandals, told food and drug companies on Friday to put safety first and warned the growing problem could threaten social stability in the world's most populous nation.' (Reuters).

Turkey: 'Two Turkish troops were killed in combat with separatist Kurdish rebels and a mine blast in eastern Turkey, army sources said on Friday.' (Reuters).

Lebanon / Syria: 'The UN panel investigating the murder of Lebanese ex-PM Rafik Hariri has identified a number of people involved, the head of the inquiry has said.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'The United States House of Representatives has voted in favour of pulling most combat troops out of Iraq by April next year.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'The captured chief cleric of a militant mosque was allowed to lead funeral prayers for his slain brother Thursday, and he predicted that the deaths of the mosque's defenders in an army raid would push Pakistan toward an "Islamic revolution." (CNN).

Pakistan: 'After the Red Mosque siege, what does the future hold for Musharraf?' (Independent).

UK: 'Gordon Brown has launched an attack on Conservative "moralising" over marriage by insisting Tory plans would leave 11 million married couples no better off.' (Independent).

Gaza: 'Israeli troops and Palestinian militants clashed in Gaza before dawn Thursday and one soldier was killed in an operation against "terror threats," the army said' (CNN).

Lebanon: 'The Lebanese army pounded a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon with heavy artillery Thursday in what one high-ranking Lebanese security source described as a final bid to oust the Islamist militants entrenched inside.' (CNN).

Turkey: 'An overwhelming majority of Turks back the government's call for the president to be elected by a direct popular vote rather than through parliament, a poll published by Vatan newspaper showed on Wednesday.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'Pakistani security forces were securing the last parts of a mosque and school complex on Wednesday, a day after an assault that killed a rebel cleric, more than 50 Islamist fighters and eight soldiers.' (Reuters).

Yemen: 'At least 367 people have died and 118 are missing after trying to reach Yemen from the Horn of Africa so far this year, the UN refugee agency says.' (BBC).

Israel / Syria: 'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has urged Syria to restart direct peace talks between the two countries.' (BBC).

Middle East: 'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday he does not want Palestinians divided into two separate political entities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist group Hamas seized control last month.' (Reuters).

Lebanon: 'Lebanese troops have fought new battles with Islamist militants around a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country, reports say.' (BBC).

Iran: 'Iran has scaled back its uranium enrichment program, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday, suggesting the move on the part of Tehran could signal willingness to resolve the international standoff over its nuclear defiance.' (Independent).

Pakistan: ' Pakistani army commandos stormed Islamabad's Red Mosque compound today, prompting a fierce firefight with militants accused of holding about 150 hostages inside. At least three soldiers and about 40 militants were killed, the army said.' (Independent).

Turkey: Turkey 'faces choice between democracy and dictatorship' (Independent).

China: 'Nearly 2,000 officials in central China's Hunan province have been found caught breaking China's strict one-child policy, state media reported yesterday.' (Independent).

Middle East: 'The 22-country Arab League will send envoys on a historic first mission to Israel this week to discuss a sweeping Arab peace initiative and how it might prop up embattled Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli and Arab diplomats said Sunday.' (CNN).

Pakistan: 'In an effort to oust Islamic radicals holed up in an Islamabad mosque, Pakistani officials have cut off water, gas, electricity, and 12 telephones, while troops blasted holes in the mosque's walls to free women and children inside.' (CNN).

Turkey: 'In a bizarre twist in the criminal prosecution of two Turkish Christians for “insulting Turkish identity,” an administrative district authority in Istanbul has ordered the converts from Islam fined for “illegal collection of funds.”' (Compass Direct).

China: 'A tornado swept across eastern China, killing 14 people and injuring 146, state media reported on Wednesday, the latest casualties from bad weather that has devastated parts of the country this summer.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'A deadline set by Pakistan's government for Islamist students at a mosque in Islamabad to surrender has passed.' (BBC).

Gaza: 'BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released by kidnappers in the Gaza Strip after 114 days in captivity.' (BBC).

China / Vatican: 'A senior official from China's state-run Catholic Church has welcomed a letter from Pope Benedict to the authorities in Beijing.' (BBC).

Afghanistan: 'The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, has described the killing by security forces in Afghanistan of more than 300 civilians as "unfortunate".' (BBC).

India: 'Up to 400,000 Hindu pilgrims in northern India are facing disappointment after it was revealed that a naturally formed ice stalagmite - worshipped as an incarnation of Lord Shiva - has melted. Those making the 10-mile trek will at best be confronted by a puddle.' (Independent).

UK: 'David Cameron yesterday stepped up the Tories' modernising drive by becoming the first party leader to appoint a Muslim to an Opposition shadow cabinet. (Telegraph).

Yemen: 'A suspected al Qaeda suicide bomber plowed his car Monday into a group of Spanish tourists visiting a temple linked to the ancient Queen of Sheba, killing seven Spaniards and two Yemenis in a part of Yemen known for its lawlessness.' (CNN).

Egypt: 'An Egyptian engineer who was convicted in 2002 of spying for Israel has died in jail of a possible heart attack while serving a 15-year sentence, Egyptian security sources said on Monday.' (Reuters).

Iran / Iraq: 'Senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran's Qods Force in fomenting violence in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday, in some of the most direct accusations yet against Tehran over the chaos in Iraq.' (Reuters).

Palestine / Israel: 'A Palestinian TV station has killed off a controversial Mickey Mouse lookalike that critics said was spreading anti-US and anti-Israeli messages to children.' (BBC).

Turkey: 'The trial of 18 people charged in connection with the murder of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is to open in the city of Istanbul.' (BBC).

UK: 'Community leaders were yesterday quick to condemn the terror attacks in Glasgow and London, while politicians played down fears of a backlash against British Muslims.' (Independent).

Afghanistan: 'An investigation into U.S.-led airstrikes that slammed into Afghan homes where Taliban fighters sought shelter has found that 62 insurgents and 45 civilians were killed, two Afghan officials say.' (CNN).