Ministers of Egypt's new government have been sworn into office at a ceremony in the capital, Cairo.

US President Barack Obama is lifting the two-year freeze on new military trials for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on an unannounced visit.

Former French President Jacques Chirac goes on trial Monday for embezzling money from the city of Paris when he was mayor, along with nine other people.  

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara announced his resignation on Sunday, apologizing for a political scandal that he became embroiled in.

Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, some in helicopter gunships, pounded opposition fighters with artillery, rockets and gunfire on Sunday, dramatically escalating their counteroffensive to halt the rebels' rapid advance toward the capital.

Men in plain clothes armed with swords and petrol bombs attacked protesters in Cairo on Sunday night during a demonstration demanding reform of security services, witnesses said.

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake on Sunday shook a northern region of Chile that has felt several frightening but inconsequential tremors in recent days. No injuries and only minor damage were reported.

The earthquake which shattered the New Zealand city of Christchurch on February 22 will cost the country up to NZ$15 billion (US$11 billion) and will also wipe 1.5 percent off the GDP over the next five years, Finance Minister Bill English said on March 6.  

A senior Palestinian official said on March 5 that France will recognise a Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.