South Sudan's army launched a fresh assault on rebels in a key oil-producing state, killing more than 80, a government minister said Wednesday, in the latest violence ahead of the region's independence in July.

A new study released Wednesday shows that in the African nation of Congo, 1,152 women are raped every day, a rate equal to 48 per hour, which is 26 times more than the previous estimate of 16,000 rapes reported in one year by the United Nations.

Thailand’s Election Commission has asked police to provide protection for politicians and their supporters during the registration of candidates running in the general election, following an assassination attempt on Tuesday.

Iran's nuclear negotiator has said the next talks with world powers must be held without pressure, which analysts said indicated Tehran would stick to its refusal to address its uranium enrichment drive.

A villager and 17 militants were killed  as about 100 Taliban fighters on motorcycles attacked a northern Afghan village that was working to join the government-sponsored local police program against the insurgency, police said on Wednesday.

Given tensions between the US and Pakistan over the killing of Osama bin Laden, a top US senator said he will visit Islamabad seeking to mend ties and answer troubling questions.

Tunisian authorities have arrested nearly 200 people after a series of anti-government protests that culminated in a street battle at the weekend in the capital, the state TAP new agency reported on Tuesday.

Japan is to reconsider plans to increase its reliance on nuclear power in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima plant.

The 13th consultative meeting of the leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) opened in Riyadh on May 10, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

Syria has dropped plans to run for a position on the United Nations Human Rights Council and will be replaced by Kuwait, UN diplomats say.