Global stock markets tumbled after Greece's debt was downgraded to "junk" by rating agency Standard & Poor's over concerns that the country may default.

For the first time amid the political upheaval raging in Thailand, the nation's revered king spoke out on April 26, calling on new judges to help stabilize the country.  

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has been declared the winner of this month's landmark elections, despite facing war crimes charges over Darfur.  

A review panel on April 26 invalidated votes cast for 52 candidates in Iraq's election, throwing into doubt the slim lead of a Sunni-backed alliance and setting the stage for a possible spike in sectarian violence.

U.S. agencies on April 25 approved a plan to use remote-controlled underwater vehicles to seal a leaking oil well beneath a drilling rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

Hungary's conservative opposition party Fidesz has won a two-thirds general election victory, second round results have confirmed.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has confirmed in a statement posted online that two of its two most senior leaders have been killed.

A Darfuri tribe says 55 of its members have been killed in a clash with soldiers from Southern Sudan's army.

About 600 homes in a shantytown outside the Philippines capital were destroyed on April 25 in a massive fire, which displaced some 2,500 families, fire officials said.

The International Monetary Fund's policy-steering body, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) on April 24 called for the implementation of country-specific exits from stimulus, and pledged to deliver on the long-expected quota and governance reform.