Unidentified gunmen have attacked the office of a Western aid agency in Pakistan, killing up to five people, the police said.
The victims, including two women, were all Pakistanis, reports say.
The attack took place on the office of the World Vision in Mansehra district, 65 km (40 miles), north of Islamabad, the police said.
Islamic [...]
US Vice-President Joe Biden is meeting the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah.
The Israeli government’s approval of plans for 1,600 more homes in a Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem is expected to dominate the talks.
Mr Biden earlier said the substance and timing of the decision had undermined the trust needed for peace [...]
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, says Europe has a "once in a generation opportunity" to build a robust new diplomatic service.
Addressing the European Parliament, Lady Ashton pointed to EU successes in the post-conflict Western Balkans as a model for future action.
She said that in the Western Balkans "more than anywhere else" the [...]
A court case brought by the family of Rachel Corrie, a US protester killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003, is due to begin in Israel.
The civil action against the Israeli defence ministry will decide whether damages should be paid for her death in Gaza at the age of 23.
Ms Corrie and other [...]
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has confirmed that the terror suspect Dulmatin was killed in a police raid in Jakarta.
Indonesian security forces said they had killed three suspected militants in two raids on Tuesday.
But they could not confirm that Dulmatin, alleged mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings, was among those killed.
Mr Yudhoyono is [...]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is shortly expected to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in Kabul.
It is the Iranian president’s first visit to the neighbouring country since Mr Ahmadinejad and Mr Karzai were re-elected last year.
Later, the Afghan president will head to Pakistan for a two day visit.
President Karzai has been criticised for [...]
The earthquake in Chile may cost the global insurance industry as much as $7bn (£4.7bn), Swiss Re has estimated.
The company, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, said the impact on the sector would between $4bn and $7bn.
Swiss Re said its own losses from last month’s 8.8 magnitude quake would total about $500m.
Chile’s president has said [...]
The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued indefinite bans to former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan.
Its inquiry into events during the tour of Australia found the pair had been involved in "infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team".
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik each face one-year bans and big fines.
Shahid Afridi, Kamran [...]
The former head of MI5 has claimed US intelligence agencies "concealed" their mistreatment of terror suspects.
Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller said she only discovered alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded after retiring in 2007.
In a lecture at the House of Lords, she said the US had been "very keen to conceal from us what [...]
China’s exports jumped by 46% in February compared with a year ago, raising hopes of a strong recovery in global trade.
The increase was higher than analysts’ expectations of a rise of between 35% and 40%.
It is likely to increase pressure on the Chinese government to raise the value of the yuan, which the US [...]