Twelve people died and three others were injured when a passenger jet crashed in the Canadian Arctic, said federal police.

At least 58 people were killed in clashes between tribes over cattle in South Sudan, a United Nations spokesman in Juba said on August 20, a further sign of instability weeks after the region gained independence.

Egypt welcomed a joint investigation with Israel on the killing of five Egyptian security personnel during an Israeli border operation, but said on August 21 that the response was insufficient given the gravity of the situation.

Two Americans held in Iran for more than two years have been convicted as spies and sentenced to eight years' jail, Iranian TV reported on August 20, a verdict that will further strain already very poor relations with Washington.

Cuba is condemning Washington's decision to keep it on the list of states allegedly sponsoring terrorism.

A powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, the US Geological Survey reported on August 20.

Israeli aircraft struck militant outposts in Gaza and Palestinians fired rockets back on August 19 following deadly gun attacks along the desert border with Egypt that have raised tensions between Israel and the new leadership in Cairo.

The special train of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s leader Kim Jong Il arrived in Russia's Far East on August 20, Republic of Korea (RoK) government officials and media reports said, in what could be his first visit to the country since 2002.

At least 50 people were killed and over 100 others were injured when a suicide bomb attack hit a mosque packed with hundreds of prayers in northwest Pakistan on the afternoon of August 19 (Friday), reported local Urdu TV channel Express.

Some 240,000 residents have mobilized on Chile's northern coast to test responses to a simulated earthquake and tsunami, the biggest such exercise ever conducted in the South American nation.