A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit sea off Japan's Fukushima prefecture on the Honshu island on Sunday, said Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
State-run television says two people were injured after an explosion in Istanbul, hours after police disarmed a bomb near a luxury hotel.
Iraq's northern Kurdish semi-autonomous region has halted oil exports over a payment row with the central government in Baghdad, causing further deterioration in its relationship with the country's Arab-led government.
A coalition of more than 70 partners including the US pledged to send millions of dollars and communications equipment to Syria's opposition groups, signalling deeper involvement in the conflict amid a growing belief that diplomacy and sanctions alone cannot end the Damascus regime's repression.
Philippine authorities say gunmen wearing police uniforms abducted a town mayor while he was inspecting a bus terminal in the country's restive southern region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overruled the planned eviction on Tuesday of Jewish settlers from a building in an occupied West Bank city that is flashpoint of tensions with Palestinians.
Yemeni officials say the latest government airstrikes in the country's south have killed 43 al Qaeda militants.
Fierce clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian troops and rebels as the regime sent reinforcements into some hot spots despite a pledge by President Bashar al-Assad to implement a peace plan.
Iran has proposed holding the next round of talks with six world powers over its disputed nuclear programme next week in Iraq instead of Turkey, Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Fierce clashes erupted after Syria's regime sent reinforcements into rebel areas despite a truce pledge, as the UN said it was rushing a team to Damascus to pave the way for peace monitors.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday angrily rejected reports of a rift within Southeast Asian nations over how to settle overlapping maritime disputes with China.
Southeast Asian leaders called Wednesday for Western countries, including the European Union, to lift punitive sanctions imposed on Myanmar now that the once-pariah nation has embraced democratic reforms.
Bahrain's Sunni Muslim minority, fearful of Shi'ite political assertiveness, is spawning factions that rail against compromise with the island's sectarian majority, while nursing their own grudges against its Sunni ruling family.
Syrian forces pressed a crackdown on rebel bastions on Thursday despite a truce pledge, with more than 40 people reported killed, as Russia said the opposition would never defeat President Bashar al-Assad's army even if "armed to the teeth."
Officials say al-Qaida-linked militants have killed three government militiamen and wounded seven others in an ambush on southern Basilan Island. The militants lost one fighter in the battle.