The US unemployment rate dipped to 8.9 percent in February, and non-farm payroll employment rose by 192,000, reported the Labor Department on Friday.

Soldiers backing Ivory Coast's defiant leader mowed down women protesting his refusal to leave power in a hail of gunfire Thursday, killing at least six and shocking a nation where women's marches have historically been used as a last resort against the army.

China has announced a double-digit increase in its military budget, insisting the annual outlay of more than 90 billion dollars posed no external threat.

Rebels in eastern Libya have said they will not negotiate unless Col Muammar Gaddafi quits and goes into exile.

No more survivors of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, are likely to be found and the task is recovery, not rescue, say relief officials.

The Libyan military bombed two key towns in the east again on March 2, stepping up efforts to reclaim a region lost to rebels.

Tunisia will hold an election on July 24 to choose a constituent assembly that will rewrite the constitution and chart the country's transition after the ousting of its veteran leader, the interim president said.

The US and Mexico have reached a proposed deal to open US highways to Mexican trucks, raising hopes of an end to a 20-year dispute.

The first India-Asean Business Fair and Business Conclave opened in India’s capital city of New Delhi on March 2 with the participation of 470 businesses, including 270 from ASEAN nations.

Intense rains and the overflowing of rivers in Bolivia killed 52 people and affected the lives of some 68,000 this year, according to an official report on March 2.