Thousands of women refused Monday to bury victims of a bloody bombing and a strike shut down Pakistan's biggest city Karachi as protesters across the country demanded protection for Shiite Muslims.
President Barack Obama's choice to run the CIA defended drone strikes as a vital "last resort" against Al-Qaeda militants, despite criticism from senators about the veil of secrecy surrounding the raids.
Tunisia faces a general strike Friday, with tens of thousands expected to take to the streets after the murder this week of a leftist opposition leader that sparked violent clashes with police.
In a reversal, President Barack Obama will allow lawmakers access to secret documents outlining the legal justification for drone strikes that kill US citizens abroad who conspire with Al-Qaeda.
The FBI suspected that US-born Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen, could have bought air tickets for three of the 9/11 hijackers before the attacks.
Egypt's top judges began an open-ended strike on Monday as anger mounted over a power grab by President Mohamed Morsi and a new constitution drafted by an Islamist-leaning council.
In less than 24 hours, rebels used surface-to-air missiles to strike down two aircraft in northern Syria, marking a turning point in their war with forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
Millions of South Koreans face commuter chaos Thursday with bus drivers set to launch a national strike to protest against a bill recognising taxis as public transport.
Israel's air strikes on the Gaza Strip have heightened the tensions surrounding the Palestinian bid for observer membership at the United Nations planned for later this month.
The UN's top human rights official Wednesday described a hunger strike by refugees banished by Australia to the remote Pacific as a sign of the "unbearable conditions" of their detention.
Israel has warned the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that it will strike with "ever-growing intensity" in response to the latest barrage of rocket attacks into the Jewish state.
Greek lawmakers vote Wednesday on austerity measures needed to unlock international aid and stave off bankruptcy despite strikes and public anger against billions more euros in tax hikes and pension cuts.
The daughter of Ukraine's jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said she cannot talk her out of her hunger strike and wakes every day fearing for her mother's life.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was ready to order a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities "if necessary", in an interview aired by Channel Two television on Monday.
The Turkish government is under increasing pressure over how to tackle a hunger strike by hundreds of Kurdish prisoners across the country as the protest nears its eighth week and their health deteriorates.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the White House on Wednesday downplayed reports that a Libyan group claimed responsibility on Facebook for the deadly strike on the US consulate in Benghazi.
Cuba has released Jorge Vazquez Chaviano, a dissident whose case sparked a hunger strike by 30 protesters last month, though he remains under "many restrictions," he told AFP.
