Libya's acting PM has called for national unity to rebuild the country, saying the liberation from Muammar Gaddafi's regime was not complete.

President Bashar al-Assad's opponents broke a taboo by appealing for foreign help to stop the killing of civilians ahead of Friday prayers that has regularly seen some of Syria's worse bloodshed in six months of pro-democracy protests.  

Russia and the world of ice hockey are mourning the deaths of 36 players and officials from the major league team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in a plane crash.

Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi has dismissed as lies and psychological warfare the speculation that he has fled south to neighbouring Niger.

Facebook's revenue doubled to US$1.6 billion in 2011's first half, a source with knowledge of its financials said, underscoring its appeal to advertisers while it grapples with intensifying competition from the likes of Google Inc.

The United States is ramping up security level around the country on September 7 as the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, with the White House saying the administration is taking "all necessary steps" to guard against possible terror plots coinciding with the anniversary.

A chartered jet carrying Russia's major league ice hockey team Lokomotiv has crashed on take-off near the central city of Yaroslavl, with 43 deaths.

Syrian troops and tanks have intensified a crackdown on the restive central city of Homs, killing at least 14 people, activists say.

Four workers were injured when southwest Iran's Abadan Refinery, the biggest in the country, caught fire on September 7, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

A bomb outside the Indian High Court in the capital Delhi has killed nine people and injured 47 on September 7, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said.