The number of Afghan civilians killed or injured in the war soared 31 percent in the first six months of the year, with Taliban bombings and assassinations largely responsible for the sharp rise, the United Nations reported.

The Central African Republic on August 10 pleaded with the U.N. Security Council for help as it grapples with rebels ahead of an expected withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers stationed there and in neighboring Chad.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez restored diplomatic ties on August 10 at talks to end the latest dispute between the ideologically opposed Andean neighbours.

Legendary former US Senator Ted Stevens was killed when a small plane carrying nine people slammed into a remote Alaska mountainside leaving five passengers dead, officials said.

The mortality rate in Moscow, Russia, has "doubled recently" because of an extended streak of heat and smog, Andrei Seltsovsky, the head of the city health department, told Russian news agencies on August 9.

The death toll from last week's flooding and subsequent landslides has risen to 165 in the Himalayan town of Leh, India, according to a senior police officer.

Indonesia’s C-130 Hercules transport aircraft crews will work alongside their Australian counterparts from August 9-13 for Exercise Rajawali AusIndo 2010.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has recommended axeing one of the ten major US military commands in a major reallocation of defence spending.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on August 8 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief will soon set the date for the Vienna Group-Iran nuclear talks.

Colombia's new President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are to meet in Colombia for talks on Tuesday.