The storm called Roke weakened from a powerful typhoon to a tropical storm on September 21, but death toll continues to rise in Japan.

The top nuclear envoy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Wi Sung-lac and his counterpart Ri Yong-ho of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on September 21 met in Beijing to pave the way for restarting the six-party talks on the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula.

Barack Obama has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas he will veto his bid for UN membership, as he tried to persuade him to drop the plans.

Libya's interim rulers, the National Transitional Council, say their forces have now taken control of much of the southern city of Sabha.

Three people died when a twin-engine turboprop aircraft used by a domestic Haitian airline crashed while trying to land during heavy rain in northern Haiti on September 20, authorities said.

At least 35 human bodies were found in a roadway during rush-hour traffic in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz on September 21, the state attorney general said.

Hundreds of Afghans have gathered in Kabul to mourn High Peace Council chief Burhanuddin Rabbani and protest at his killing by a suicide bomber on September 20.

Europe will come under heavy pressure this week to stem its deepening debt crisis but talks among the self-proclaimed guardians of global finance are unlikely to yield bold action.

A leading doctor from the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for preventative measures on chronic diseases to be placed higher on the international agenda.

The 32nd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-32) on September 20 agreed to accept the Parliament of Myanmar as a full member of AIPA.