Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers withdraws his candidacy to succeed Ben Bernanke as head of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve.

The most senior woman police officer in Afghanistan's troubled Helmand province is shot and injured by unknown gunmen, an official says.

South Korean workers return to the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, five months after work was suspended amid severe political tension.

French President Francois Hollande says the deal on Syria's chemical weapons is an "important step", as he prepares to host further talks in Paris.

One of the largest salvage operations ever attempted is set to begin in Italy with efforts to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright.

Cambodia's political rivals hold talks, a day after protests and clashes in Phnom Penh over contested election results left one person dead.

Australia's royal commission into child sexual abuse begins public hearings, as panel say more than 4,000 victims have come forward.

A 32-year-old British climber has fallen 2,000ft to his death on a mountain in a New Zealand national park, police say.