A senior aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan, was killed in an attack on his home in Kabul on July 17.

Libyan rebels say they are fighting Muammar Gaddafi's forces in residential areas of the eastern town of Brega.

A new round of NATO airstrikes rattled the suburbs of the Libyan capital on July 17 as Muammar Gaddafi vowed never to leave his country.

The UN has made its first aid delivery to drought victims in areas of Somalia controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants since they lifted an aid ban.

Ten Libyan rebels were reported killed and 172 wounded in an attack on the eastern oil port of Brega on July 16, while insurgents drove back forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in the west.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Orabi has resigned ahead of an expected major cabinet reshuffle.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez headed to Cuba on July 16 for an unknown period of time for chemotherapy after giving up some powers and saying doctors had found no malignant cells in his body after cancer surgery last month.

US President Barack Obama has held further private meetings with congressional leaders aimed at averting a US default.

Heavy clashes between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi broke out on July 16 on the front line in Libya's Western Mountains at the town of Bir Ghanam, as insurgents seek to push toward Tripoli.

Les Hinton said on July 15 he is resigning as chief executive of Dow Jones, the latest development in the phone-hacking scandal that already put Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid out of business.