Germany has allowed the sale of 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia after decades of blocking heavy weapons sales to the kingdom, the Der Spiegel said Saturday.

A small but vocal group of anti-monarchists met Prince William and his wife Catherine in Quebec Saturday during their Canadian tour with chants of "Down with the monarchy!"

Hong Kong police arrested 231 people and used pepper spray during a demonstration by tens of thousands angered at government policies and soaring property prices, officials said on Saturday.

Libyan rebels who had advanced to within 80 km (50 miles) of Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital were forced to retreat on July 1 after coming under a barrage of rocket fire from government forces.

A landslide triggered by days of incessant rain killed at least 12 people on July 1 in southeastern Bangladesh, a fire official said.

The Jordanian government led by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit submitted its resignation on July 2, according to an official source.

Political campaigning in Thailand drew to a close on July 2, taking a day to cool off before an election which could exacerbate the country's six-year-old political crisis just as easily as end it.

Leon Panetta sworn in as US defense secretary on July 1.

Moroccans have approved constitutional reforms put forward by King Mohammed VI in response to recent pro-democracy protests, preliminary results show.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in anti-government protests across Syria, despite the ongoing crackdown on dissent, reports say.