The Taliban today opened an office in Qatar in a bid to start "dialogue with the world" as US officials said they hoped to meet the insurgents within days, after the Afghan government took control of nationwide security from Nato troops.
Twin suicide bombers killed 31 people and wounded 57 others after midday prayers at a Shiite Muslim hussainiyah, or religious hall, in Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest in violence that has sparked fears of a revival of full-blown sectarian bloodshed.
The flow of foreign direct investment into Arab states, including those hit by uprisings, rose by 9.8% last year despite the unrest but remained well below their 2010 level, a report said on Tuesday.
Japanese experts today are set to discuss rules for experiments with animal-human embryos, as scientists seek permission for tests that could see human organs produced inside the growing body of an animal.
US President Barack Obama said that China has understood his "very blunt" message that cyber-hacking against the United States will lead to a deterioration of relations between the two powers.
US President Barack Obama will tell G8 leaders that Washington is offering a new $300 million aid package for refugees inside and outside Syria, a senior official said.
Turkey warned on Monday it may bring in the army to help quell nearly three weeks of nationwide anti-government protests as two major union federations went on strike over police violence against demonstrators.
Iran's newly-elected president Hassan Rowhani ruled out on Monday any halt to nuclear activity, but hoped an early deal could be reached to allay the concerns of major powers.
Protesters clashed with police firing water cannons and tear gas in Jakarta on Monday, as thousands demonstrated nationwide against a plan to hike fuel prices.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was summoned on Monday to appear before a criminal court on unspecified charges levelled by a conservative rival, days after moderate cleric Hassan Rohani was elected his successor.
The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement on Monday urged Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from Syria, where they are battling for President Bashar al-Assad, and focus on fighting Israel instead.
Riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannon to prevent anti-government protesters from converging on Istanbul's central Taksim Square on Sunday, unbowed even as Turkey's Prime Minister addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters a few kilometers away.
Four people have died from the MERS virus in Saudi Arabia, brining the death toll from the SARS-like virus in the kingdom to 32, the health ministry said on its website.
Vietnamese police have arrested a blogger accused of posting "erroneous and slanderous" information about the communist government, the third blogger to be locked in the past month in an intensifying crackdown against dissent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the international community on Sunday against easing sanctions on Iran following the election of a reformist-backed President, as the country’s nuclear efforts remain firmly in the hands of Iran’s extremist ruling clerics.