Egyptian voters headed to the polls on November 28 in parliamentary elections that critics have said could be tainted by fraud and intimidation.

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has begun releasing extracts from secret cables sent by US embassies, giving an insight into current global concerns.

Voting is under way in the presidential election run-off in the Ivory Coast, as the nation tries to end a decade of division and instability.

A plane crashed early on November 28 in the southern port city of Karachi, killing at least eight people on board and sending flames shooting through the night sky, a Pakistani official said.  

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the US have begun four days of joint military exercises in the waters off the Korean west coast.

European ministers are expected to sign off on a euro85 billion rescue for Ireland on November 28, making it the second euro member after Greece to require a bailout in the face of a crippling debt crisis.

Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested 149 al-Qaeda suspects over the past eight months, officials have announced.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Pham Gia Khiem as Chair of ASEAN has called on the parties concerned in the artillery shelling exchange on the Korean Peninsula to exercise restraint and resolve disputes by peaceful means.

Tensions between the Koreas remained high on November 26 as China appeared to criticize the US- Republic of Korea (RoK) military exercise set to begin on November 28 in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.  

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has dismissed reports that Portugal is next in line for a financial rescue package.