In stews, as pets or adorning shop windows, rabbits are ubiquitous as millions of Chinese mark the Lunar New Year, hoping for a more tranquil time ahead as the old Year of the Tiger roars its last.

At least nine people were killed and over a dozen others injured after an explosive- laden car went off on Wednesday near a police station on the outskirts of Peshawar, main city in northwest Pakistan, police sources said.

At least 15 people were killed and 50 others injured in a train mishap in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he will not stand for re-election in September, as protests against his rule grow.

King Abdullah of Jordan has dismissed his cabinet and appointed a new prime minister amid large street protests.

At least 219 people died during the protests that toppled Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last month, a UN team has said.

Egypt's army has vowed it will not use force against the tens of thousands of people protesting for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak from office.

Floodwaters swept away a bus and a truck as they crossed a swollen river in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31 people, police said on Monday.

The annual meeting of the 41st World Economic Forum (WEF) ended on January 30 in the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Davos with a sense of cautious optimism.  

The government's call for protesters to obey a curfew and low-flying fighter jets overhead did nothing to deter thousands of Egyptians from continuing their protests, raising prospects that demonstrations could continue for a seventh day on January 31, when the U.S. plans to begin flying thousands of Americans out of the country.