A suspected right-wing fanatic accused of killing at least 92 people deemed his acts "atrocious" yet "necessary" as Norway mourned victims of the nation's worst attacks since World War Two.

Tens of thousands of Israelis marched in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against rising housing prices and social inequalities in the Jewish state, an AFP correspondent said.

An Iranian physicist was shot dead by a motorcyclist in Tehran on Saturday and Iran's student news agency ISNA quoted an unnamed police official as saying the man was a nuclear scientist.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) reiterated its call on August 1 for a resumption of six-party talks without preconditions, its state-run news agency reported from Pyongyang.

Groups of men armed with knives and sticks attacked thousands of protesters trying to march to the headquarters of Egypt's military rulers Saturday, setting off fierce street clashes and leaving more than 100 injured, most lightly.

Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he has paved an easy path for the next government during a televised public speech on August 4.

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on August 4 that an agreement has been reached between House and Senate leaders to put the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back to work, two weeks after thousands of the agency's employees were furloughed due to a funding impasse.

Debt-laden Italy is likely to default, but Spain might just avoid it, according to the British think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

A French court is to investigate the new head of the IMF for abuse of authority as French finance minister.

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has replaced her defence minister after he made disparaging remarks about other senior officials.