Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced his resignation as leader of the Democrat Party on the morning of July 4.

Japanese researchers say they have discovered vast deposits of rare earth minerals, used in many hi-tech appliances, in the seabed.

Libyan rebels rejected on July 3 an African Union (AU) peace plan to end the ongoing conflicts in the North African country, insisting that any settlement should be based on the immediate resignation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Syrian forces on July 3 carried out arrests in the western city of Hama, an opposition stronghold, amid the sound of heavy gunfire, an anti-government activist said.

A pipeline carrying gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan has been hit by an explosion, officials have said.

More than 180 police and protesters were injured on July 3 during demonstrations against a high-speed railway tunnel linking Italy to France.

Thailand's opposition won a landslide election victory on July 3, led by the sister of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a triumph for red-shirt protesters who clashed with the army last year.

Thailand held pivotal elections on Sunday that voters hope will end the country's long-running political crisis.

Britain will announce this week that it is to withdraw up to 800 troops by the end of next year, according to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper.

Guatemalan police say a mob beat, shot and stabbed to death five men and a woman they suspected of robbery in a remote mountain village.