Syrian forces killed at least 19 people in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country's Sunni tribal heartland, activists said, pursuing a military campaign to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

At least seven people have been killed in twin bombings in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say.

France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have banned short-selling of the shares of banks and other financial companies.

Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled on August 11 new measures to end the country's worst riots in decades, and admitted that the government could call in the army to quell the violence.

Thousands of residents of a town in southwest China took to the streets on August 11, smashing police vehicles in the latest protest by citizens angered by the rough handling of local officials, according to news reports.

Britain is considering disrupting online social networking such as Blackberry Messenger and Twitter during civil unrest, Prime Minister David Cameron said on August 11.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reports that a strong earthquake has jolted northeastern Japan, the same region devastated by the massive quake and tsunami in March.

The Syrian army shot dead 11 people in a western town near the Lebanese border on August 11 and stormed a northwestern town near Turkey's border, activists said.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) says the Republic of Korea (RoK) mistook "normal blasting" from a construction project for artillery shelling when it accused Pyongyang of opening fire near their disputed maritime line in the Yellow Sea.

A Chinese court sentenced seven people to jail for selling illegal toxic chemicals to pork producers, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday, the latest rulings in another food safety scandal.