Israel criticized Russia on Monday for planning to sell anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, saying the advanced weapons could be transferred to Hezbollah guerrillas in neighbouring Lebanon.

President Benigno Aquino said Manila's mayor, a recently retired police chief and journalists were among a dozen people who could be charged over last month's disastrous hostage standoff that killed eight Hong Kong tourists and damaged ties with China.

Landslides and heavy monsoon rains swept the hilly areas of northern India over the weekend, killing at least 47 people, officials said on September 20.

Tajikistan said on September 20 foreign Islamist militants were responsible for killing at least 23 troops in an ambush near the Central Asian republic's border with Afghanistan.

The 17 nations responsible for 80 percent of carbon emissions blamed for global warming will seek to unblock stalled climate negotiations this week but analysts expect little progress.

Sweden's ruling center-right coalition won re-election on September 19, marking a historic moment as a non-socialist government was elected to a second term for the first time in the country's political history.

Thousands of anti-government "red-shirt" protesters have defied a state of emergency by staging a demonstration in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

At least 36 people were killed in attacks across Iraq on September 19, including 29 who died after two large car bomb explosions rocked the country's capital, officials said.

Twenty-two Colombian guerrillas were killed on September 19 in an airstrike, the country's defense minister said.

The UK is doubling its aid to Pakistan to help with the recovery from its devastating floods, pledging an extra £70m on top of £64m already committed.