Palestine: 'A senior Palestinian official has said the Palestinians ought to unilaterally declare a state if peace talks with Israel do not succeed.' (BBC).

Egypt: 'The authorities in Egypt have rounded up dozens of members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.' (BBC).

Gaza: 'Israeli troops have killed a 10-year-old boy during a raid into central Gaza, Palestinian medics say.' (BBC).

Myanmar: 'Myanmar's military rulers have agreed to meet a U.N. envoy in March to discuss the country's "roadmap to democracy", including its plans to bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part in elections, the envoy said on Thursday' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'Pakistan's largest political party made a conciliatory gesture to President Pervez Musharraf today by offering to include his allies in a new coalition government.' (Telegraph).

Gaza: 'Palestinian Christian widow Pauline Ayyad gave birth in Gaza last week to a healthy little girl, four months after the tiny infant’s father was kidnapped and shot to death by Islamist radicals still at large.' (Compass Direct).

Gaza: 'The Israeli military says it has taken about 80 Palestinians to Israel for questioning following a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the army had a "free hand" to target militants in Gaza.' (BBC).

Tajikistan: 'The UN has issued an appeal for donor aid to help the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan. A severe energy crisis coupled with an unusually cold winter is affecting the lives of millions of people.' (BBC).

Pakistan: ' Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf is facing perhaps his toughest political challenge after his parliamentary allies suffered a resounding defeat in an election poised to change the country's balance of power. The result has already raised questions about Mr Musharraf's political future.' (Independent).

Israel / Palestine: 'Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not agreed to postpone talks on the future of Jerusalem, a senior adviser said on Monday, disputing comments by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.' (Reuters).

Philippines: 'Thousands of people protested against U.S. soldiers involved in humanitarian missions in Muslim areas of the southern Philippines on Monday, saying the troops' presence could be provocative.' (Reuters).

Cyprus: 'President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated Sunday in a cliff-hanger first round of Cyprus' presidential election -- a surprise result that could signal a renewed drive to end the island's decades-old division.' (CNN).

Afghanistan: 'A suicide bomb exploded in a crowd of people gathering to watch dog fighting, killing at least 80 people and wounding dozens more in the western section of Kandahar, Afghanistan Sunday morning, according to Afghan officials' (CNN).

Pakistan: 'Pakistanis went to the polls Monday in violence-dogged parliamentary elections that could prove pivotal for Washington ally President Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to exert his authority over a nuclear-armed nation in turmoil.' (CNN).

Bangladesh: 'A plague of rats has destroyed the crops of tens of thousands of people living in Bangladesh's remote Chittagong Hill Tracts.' (BBC).

Nepal: 'Nepal's police have arrested an Indian man suspected of being the mastermind of an illegal kidney transplant racket in India that may have duped or forced at gunpoint hundreds of poor laborers into donating their organs.' (Reuters).

Gaza: 'Israeli troops backed by tanks, helicopter gunships and warplanes have killed seven Palestinian militants and a schoolteacher in a raid in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, militant groups and hospital officials said.' (Independent).

UK: 'The Archbishop of Canterbury provoked a chorus of criticism yesterday by predicting that it was "unavoidable" that elements of Islamic sharia law would be introduced in Britain.' (Independent).

Tajikistan: 'Tajikistan is in the grip of emergency food shortages, the UN's World Food Programme is warning.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'American forces in Baghdad yesterday warned of a "disturbing trend in the use and exploitation of children by al-Qaida in Iraq", after discovering videos showing young boys being trained in kidnapping and assassination.' (Guardian).

Pakistan: 'Chants of Koranic verses and somber hymns resonated throughout Benazir Bhutto's ancestral village in southern Pakistan on Thursday as thousands gathered at the assassinated former prime minister's tomb to mark a 40th and final day of mourning.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'Taliban groups based in Pakistan could pose a significant international threat and become a leading terrorist group, analysts at a leading thinktank warned today.' (Guardian).

China: 'Millions of Chinese began the biggest holiday of the year without power on Wednesday after more than a week of fierce winter weather, but tens of thousands of stranded passengers had finally found trains, buses and planes to get home for family reunions.' (Reuters).

Afghanistan: 'The condemned student journalist Sayed Pervez Kambaksh will not face execution, a senior government official in Afghanistan indicated yesterday.' (Independent).

Gaza: 'An Israeli airstrike pounded a Hamas base in southern Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least six Hamas militants and injuring 10 -- three critically, Hamas security sources said.' (CNN).

Arab World: 'The World Bank has said the quality of education in the Arab world is falling behind other regions and needs urgent reform if it is to tackle unemployment.' (BBC).

China: 'A total of 39 Chinese counties still have little or no power following the nation's worst weather in decades. Power has been restored to 17 million households, according to state media, but more than 130 counties remain affected in some way.' (BBC).

Gaza / Egypt: 'Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border on Monday, killing one person and wounding 59 others a day after Cairo closed the breached frontier with the Hamas-run enclave.' (Reuters).

Israel: ' Police were on high alert through southern Israel yesterday after a woman was killed in a Palestinian suicide attack which two armed factions claimed had been made possible by the breach in the Egypt-Gaza border 12 days ago.' (Independent).

Iran: 'Iran launched a rocket on Monday designed to send its first homemade research satellite into orbit in the next year, state television said, a move likely to add to Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear plans.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'A suicide bomber attacked a Pakistani military bus taking medical corps staff to work in the city of Rawalpindi on Monday killing at least five people and wounding 25, police and military officials said.' (Reuters).

Egypt / Gaza: 'Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians were trapped behind their closed borders again after tasting freedom for 12 days, when Egyptian forces sealed the last of the breaks in the Gaza-Egypt barrier broken down by Hamas militants.' (Independent).

Israel / Lebanon: 'Israeli cross-border gunfire killed one Lebanese civilian and critically wounded another Sunday in a village that straddles the country's southern border with Israel, a spokesman for the Lebanese army told CNN.' (CNN).

Egypt / Gaza: 'Egypt called in police reinforcements and sealed gaps at the breached border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday.' (Reuters).

Afghanistan: 'Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has been inundated with appeals to save the life of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the student journalist sentenced to death after being accused of downloading an internet report on women's rights.' (Independent).

Pakistan: One of al-Qa'ida's most senior commanders in Afghanistan and a key liaison with Taliban, Abu Laith al-Libi, has been killed in Pakistan, a US official has confirmed.' (Independent).

China: 'Hundreds of thousands of desperate travelers, some hoisting terrified children or baggage over their heads, pushed their way onto trains Thursday as service resumed after the worst winter storms in decades paralyzed China.' (CNN).