Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, laid carefully side by side after the onslaught on Friday, triggered shock around the world and underlined the failure of a six-week-old U.N. ceasefire plan to stop the violence.

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station on Friday and became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the orbital outpost.

UN nuclear inspectors have found uranium traces in an Iranian underground site refined to a somewhat higher level than the enrichment work normally carried out there, but still well below potential weapons-grade material, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul became the finalists in the race for the 2020 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided on Wednesday. Doha of Quatar and Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, were eliminated from the list. Both cities also failed to make the cut for the 2016 Games. The IOC will vote for the final winner on September 7 next year in Buenos Aires. The executive board, chaired by IOC President Jacques Rogge, chose the finalists after examining a technical evaluation report compiled by a panel of Olympic experts. The board then voted on each candidate. Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time, Tokyo a second time in a row and Istanbul a fifth time overall.

The global economy has embarked on a fragile recovery, which might be derailed by the crisis hovering over the eurozone, warned the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday.

The opening ceremony of the 65th General Assembly of the World Health Organisation (WHO) opened Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, with the theme “Ageing and Health: Good health adds life to years”.

The Forum concept was established last year by the Governments of New Zealand and Australia, in order to share the two countries’ deep experience of integration with ASEAN members as their own regional integration process continues.

The upcoming World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 (WEF) scheduled for May 30-June 1 in Bangkok , Thailand , is expected to draw about 700 people.

The World Bank will provide advisory services to ASEAN to strengthen its capacity to monitor progress towards achieving the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.