Somali pirates hijacked a yacht with four Americans onboard in the Indian Ocean, U.S. military officials said on February 19.

A leading newspaper of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on February 19 urged the Republic of Korea (RoK) to change its confrontation policy and improve north-south relations as soon as possible.

A suicide car bomber killed at least nine people and wounded more than 40 others in eastern Afghanistan on February 18.

The US has vetoed an Arab resolution at the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories as an obstacle to peace.

Bahraini security forces fired on protesters on February 18, wounding dozens, and thousands demonstrated in Libya after a deadly government crackdown as pro-democracy unrest in the Middle East and North Africa turned increasingly violent.

The world's leading nations were divided on February 18 over plans to reduce global economic imbalances, with China determined to head off international criticism over its huge foreign exchange reserves.

A suicide car bomb attack on a police checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan on February 18 killed at least nine people and injured dozens, health and police officials said.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said February 17 that congressional opposition makes the likelihood of closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "very, very low".  

Parts of the Middle East and North Africa were set for renewed displays of public anger toward their governments on February 18, with the focus on Bahrain and Libya as protesters bury people killed in recent clashes.

Cambodia and Thailand have pledged to boost bilateral trade, despite military confrontation in the border disputed areas near the temple of Preah Vihear, a World Heritage site.