Indonesia's parliament scraps direct elections for regional governors and mayors in a move widely seen as a blow for President-elect Joko Widodo.

Political prisoners in Uzbekistan suffer "unspeakable abuses" including torture and abysmal jail conditions, Human Rights Watch says.

Chinese state media say 50 people are now known to have died in violence in Xinjiang on Sunday, in what police called a "serious terrorist attack".

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy re-launches his political career with a rally near the northern city of Lille.

The US grants permission to six television and movie companies to allow for the use of drones to shoot film scenes.

The EU's anti-terrorism chief tells the BBC the number of Europeans joining Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq has risen to more than 3,000.

Australia will pay Cambodia $35m over four years to take in transferred refugees, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says.

India and China agree to pull back troops after a two-week stand-off near the de facto border, India's foreign minister says.