A speech by Syria's Bashar al-Assad denouncing opponents as "puppets of the West" is dismissed by the US, which calls it "detached from reality".

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tells West Bank officials to prepare to put the words "State of Palestine" on public documents.

The father of an Indian woman who was gang raped has denied he wanted her named, as five suspects in the case are due to appear in a Delhi court.

Heavily armed gangs burst into two bars in the northern city of Torreon and kill at least nine people.

The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan reaffirm their commitment to setting up a buffer zone on their shared border and resuming oil exports.

A senior Bolivian minister alleges there is proof that the US embassy has been actively working against President Evo Morales.

Ghanaian President John Mahama is due to be sworn into office in a ceremony in Accra which the main opposition is set to boycott.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is visiting wildfire-hit regions in Tasmania, amid warnings of more searing weather across the country.