China: 'Two people were killed in western China when police moved to arrest an alleged pro-Tibet rioter, state media reported.' (BBC).

Afghanistan: An article on child mortality in Afghanistan, which is among the highest in the world. (Reuters).

Israel / West Bank: 'Israel is coming under concerted international pressure to give swift agreement to specific measures to improve Palestinian life in the West Bank which senior diplomats believe could eventually make or break negotiations between the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.' (Independent).

Gaza: 'Israeli fire hit a house in the Gaza Strip on Monday while a family was eating breakfast inside, killing four Palestinian children and critically wounding their mother, residents and medical officials said.' (Reuters).

China: 'Two passenger trains collided in eastern China on Monday, killing at least 66 people and injuring hundreds as carriages derailed and toppled into a ditch, state media said.' (Reuters).

Iraq: 'Barbaric 'honour killings' become the weapon to subjugate women in Iraq' (Independent).

Afghanistan: 'Taliban militants opened fire at a military ceremony in the capital Sunday morning. A lawmaker, tribal leader and 10-year-old child were killed, but President Hamid Karzai escaped unhurt, according to an official and a statement from Karzai's office.' (CNN).

Afghanistan: 'The Dutch and Danish governments have evacuated their embassies in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in response to threats.' (BBC).

Turkey: 'Turkish warplanes fired on a group of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Wednesday as they tried to cross into Turkey, the army said in a statement on Thursday.' (Reuters).

Israel / Syria: 'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told Turkey that Israel was willing to give back Syria's Golan Heights in return for peace with the Arab state, a Syrian cabinet minister said on Wednesday.' (Reuters).

Iran: 'Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear issue with any country but will not yield to international pressure to halt the atomic work, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech on Wednesday. (Reuters).

Israel: 'Israeli police had to break up a fist fight that erupted between Greek and Armenian Orthodox clergymen at one of Christianity's holiest sites.' (BBC).

UK: 'A storytelling exhibition called Peace by Piece has opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark in south London that aims to challenge some of the stereotypes about Muslims. (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Pakistan's new government has made good on its promise to negotiate with militant groups within its borders by releasing a jailed pro-Taliban leader who recruited thousands of fighters to battle U.S. forces in Afghanistan.' (CNN).

Vietnam: 'An unprecedented prayer appeal by the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) indicates that the government has stonewalled quiet, persistent attempts to obtain redress on confiscated church properties, interference in church affairs and discrimination against Christians.' (Compass Direct).

Nepal: 'Nepal's former Maoist rebels have won half the directly elected seats in a crucial election meant to cement a shaky peace deal, but are only likely to head a minority government at the end of a complex election.' (Reuters).

Malaysia: 'Hundreds of flag-waving Chinese students gathered at the starting and ending points of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur Monday, far outnumbering the handful of people who carried pro-Tibet signs.' (CNN).

China: 'China's Communist Party has launched a political education drive in Tibet's restive capital, Lhasa, vowing a long campaign to attack pro-independence sentiment and support for the Dalai Lama.' (Reuters).

Middle East: 'The former US president Jimmy Carter today said Hamas was prepared to accept Israel's right to "live as a neighbour next door in peace". Carter was speaking after meeting Khaled Meshal, an influential leader within the militant organisation, in Damascus last week.' (Guardian).

Saudi Arabia: 'Saudi women appeal for legal freedoms' (Independent).

Third World: 'The U.N. chief warned Sunday that the world must urgently increase food production to ease skyrocketing prices and pledged to set up a task force on a crisis threatening to destabilize developing nations.' (CNN).

China: 'The two young women trying on headscarves at a dusty market stall have heard of the recent unrest in Tibet's capital Lhasa, but they say the same could never happen here in China's border region of Xinjiang.' (Reuters).

Gaza: 'Tank shell that sprays deadly darts killed cameraman in Gaza, say doctors' (Independent).

UK: 'An Islamist activist who made militant statements to the press and heckled the then Home Secretary John Reid has been convicted of terrorist fund-raising and inciting terrorism overseas.' (Independent).

Algeria: 'Following an increase in church closures and convictions of Christians in Algeria this year, a United Nations body this week questioned Algerian delegates on an “alarming deterioration” of religious freedom there.' (Compass Direct).

India: 'Thousands of police patrolled central New Delhi, guarding against anti-China protests for the Olympic torch relay Thursday in India, the heart of the world's Tibetan exile community.' (CNN).

Gaza: 'Israeli airstrikes and ground battles with Palestinian militants on Wednesday left 21 dead, most of them Palestinians, according to Palestinian security sources.' (CNN).

Nepal: 'A victory for Nepal's Maoist rebels may have set off alarm bells in Washington and New Delhi, but the former rebels are set to focus on development, pursue pragmatic policies and avoid ruffling foreign feathers.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'Thousands of Pakistani troops have been deployed to protect the Olympic torch which has touched down in Islamabad.' (BBC).

India: 'Around 40 people have been killed after a bus plunged into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, a local official has said.' (BBC).

India: 'Believing that his brother’s Christian faith was black magic that resulted in the death of his teenage daughter, a tribal villager in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh state on April 3 killed Thakur Sing Bhil with an arrow shot to the chest, relatives said.' (Compass Direct).

Turkey: 'Turkish Protestants are this week commemorating the deaths one year ago of Necati Aydin, Tillman Geske and Uður Yüksel. On 18 April 2007, the three - two Turks and a German national - were brutally murdered in their office in the south-eastern town of Malatya. The murders left behind grieving families, a community in fear and a country with mixed emotions about the incident.' (Forum 18).

Pakistan: 'The Pakistani parliament has passed a resolution urging the government to request a UN investigation into the killing of former PM Benazir Bhutto.' (BBC).

Iran: 'Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi has described receiving an increasing number of death threats. (BBC).

Third World: 'Riots from Haiti to Bangladesh to Egypt over the soaring costs of basic foods have brought the issue to a boiling point and catapulted it to the forefront of the world's attention, the head of an agency focused on global development said Monday.' (CNN).

Nepal: 'Less than two years after they ended their armed struggle and entered mainstream politics, Nepal's Maoists are heading towards a shock victory in the country's election. (Independent).

Iran: 'An explosion in a southern Iranian mosque killed 12 people and wounded more than 200 after evening prayers Saturday night, Iran's Fars news agency reported.' (CNN).

Israel / Palestine: 'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Sunday in Jerusalem to discuss the situation in Gaza, the chief Palestinian negotiator told CNN.' (CNN).

Pakistan: 'At least seven people have been killed and 12 others injured after rival groups of lawyers clashed in the Pakistani city of Karachi, police say.' (BBC).

Nepal: 'Praying it will bring their country lasting peace after a decade of war and insurgency, Nepalis lined up from dawn on Thursday to cast their vote in a historic election, the country's first in nine years.' (Reuters).

Gaza: 'Two Israeli civilians were killed yesterday by Palestinian gunmen who managed to break through Gaza's border fence in a daylight attack on the nearby main fuel depot of Nahal Oz.' (Independent).

US / China: 'The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Wednesday calling on China to end its crackdown on Tibet and release Tibetans imprisoned for "nonviolent" demonstrations. (CNN).

Algeria: 'Police issued written orders for three Algerian churches to cease activity this week, bringing to 19 the number of congregations told to shut down since November, an Algerian Protestant leader said.' (Compass Direct).

Nepal: 'The UN has called on the Maoist party in Nepal to stop intimidating members of other parties in the run-up to the nationwide elections on Thursday.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'An Iraqi priest has been killed in a drive-by shooting by unidentified gunmen in central Baghdad' (BBC).

UK / China: 'Campaigners complained of heavy-handed police tactics during the Olympic torch relay yesterday as officers were seen pulling down Tibetan flags, barging bystanders away from the route, threatening arrest under anti-terrorist legislation and telling protesters to remove "Free Tibet" T-shirts'. (Guardian).

Egypt: 'Egyptians angry with the government about high prices set fire to shops and two schools in a Nile Delta textile town on Sunday after police thwarted plans for a general strike and countrywide protests.' (Reuters).