Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa is considering seeking talks with his Chinese counterpart in Vietnam next month to repair strained bilateral ties, Kyodo news agency said.

US President Barack Obama ordered unprecedented sanctions against senior Iranian officials for "sustained and severe violations of human rights" on September 29.

The United Nations Security Council has ended sanctions against Sierra Leone, restrictions originally imposed during the nation's brutal civil war, the Security Council announced on September 29.

Thousands of people from across the EU are expected to march in Brussels on September 29 to protest against sweeping austerity measures by many national governments.

In an effort to find a political solution to the war, the Afghan government set up a 70-member peace council on Tuesday, formalizing efforts already under way to reconcile with top Taliban leaders and lure insurgent foot soldiers off the battlefield.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday abruptly sacked veteran Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, a powerful political opponent who criticized the Kremlin and then defied pressure to resign.

Three Jewish activists who tried to break through Israel's blockade on Gaza were on their way out of Israel on the night of September 28 and a fourth was awaiting deportation, their lawyer said.

Intelligence agencies have disrupted an Al-Qaeda-linked plot to launch terrorist attacks in Britain, France and Germany similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, reports said.

  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reminded Israel on Monday that the building of settlements on occupied territory was illegal, and said he was "disappointed" by the government's failure to extend its partial ban on further West Bank construction.

Pakistan protested Monday over an apparent violation of its airspace by NATO helicopters from Afghanistan over the weekend, saying it would consider "response options" to any future incursions.