The Libyan militant was killed on August 22 in the volatile Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, he added.

The pledge, made at talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, was intended to improve the chances of reviving the six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks that collapsed when the DPRK walked out of them in 2008.

The race to become Japan's sixth leader in five years was blown wide open on August 22 when former foreign minister Seiji Maehara, 49, decided to run.

The World Bank said Monday it has been monitoring Libya's economic situation and would be guided by member countries on resuming its activities with the country.

Chinese rail authorities said they would stop more high-speed rail services, just as a magazine published claims that a big safety flaw had been discovered on a bullet train made by a state-owned firm.

New York prosecutors have asked for the dismissal of sexual assault charges against IMF (International Monetary Fund) former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, according to the official document filed on Monday.

Cambodia withdrew an estimated 18,000 troops from the disputed border area with Thailand on August 20.

Up to 30 people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of violence in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city and commercial capital, but police on August 18 said the clashes now focused more on gang turf wars after months of ethnic and political disputes.

US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in China on Wednesday to try to revive his country's image after a historic debt downgrade and build a rapport with the man expected to be the Asian power's next leader.

Turkish F-16 jet fighters started bombing the main stronghold of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Wednesday night, local media reported.

France and Germany unveiled far-reaching plans on August 16 for closer euro zone integration and said joint euro bonds may be a longer-term option, leaving the currency area vulnerable to more attacks from traders.

British Prime Minister David Cameron Monday promised to mend Britain's "broken society" during his first set-piece speech since the riots which struck London and other English cities last week.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Monday warned governments not to slash spending to avoid sparking a new recession and stalling the feeble economic recovery from the 2008 crisis.

The Italian cabinet approved on Friday a 45-billion-euro (around 64-billion-dollar) austerity program in a bid to avoid a believed debt crisis. The bill, which came at the end of a nearly 2-hour meeting, reinforced the previously-approved budget plan with additional measures worth 45.5 billion euros (65 billion dollars) for the upcoming two years. The aim of the program was to meet budgetary requirements by the European Central Bank (ECB) and reassure markets. Among the tight measures envisaged are cuts to political costs, public employees and reduction in the number of local authorities and national festivities, together with a pension reform, solidarity taxes affecting high incomes and new liberalizations, ANSA news agency reported. Talking at a press conference following the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he was aware that the emergency plan was all "sacrifices and tears" but that it was essential for Italy's salvation. "Our heart is bleeding, I promised not to raise taxes but the dramatic economic situation forces me to do so if we intend to reach budget balance by 2013," he stressed. Berlusconi also noted that this program was in the direction of what the ECB had recommended, and as a return the ECB from Monday intervened on the Italian markets buying its bonds.

On the first trading day after the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating late last Friday, the markets went wild with investors rushing to pull out their bet on the equity markets. On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Index both plunged over 6 percent and the Dow lost 634.76 points. The CBOE Volatility Index, which is regarded as the best gauge of markets' fear, jumped 50 percent to 48.00 on Monday, the figure's first leap above 40 since May 2010. Although Tuesday's market rebounded quite a lot with three major indexes jumping over 3 percent, stocks tumbled again on Wednesday as investors were concerned about the slowing economy and rumors said France might be the next to lose its triple-A credit rating. All three major indexes fell more than 4 percent. Meanwhile, gold was pushed higher due to strong risk-aversion appetite. Gold futures rallied and hit a record high of 1800 U.S. dollars an ounce on Wednesday. The precious metal surged 5.5 percent this week. Out of expectation, stocks rose sharply again on Thursday, with three major indexes surging over 3 percent and traders said it was due to a "technological correction." Then Friday's market again beat everyone's expectation. The Dow rose over 1 percent and the market closed higher for the second consecutive day. "All I can say is, this is a crazy world." New York Stock Exchange trader Joseph Yong told Xinhua. CONCERNS OVER ECONOMY REMAIN With the downgrade issue fading away, investors now pay more attention to the economic situation. Some of them hold positive views toward future markets and believe shares such as technological ones will have a good return. The Federal Reserve decided Tuesday to maintain its ultra-loose interest rates for at least another two years and hinted to take more measures if the economic condition requires. The central bank's pledge helped shore up the markets as the Dow soared more than 600 points in last hour trading on Tuesday. However, on Wednesday, rumors spread in the markets that France might lose its triple-A credit rating, which raised investors' concerns about the European country's debt health and triggered a sell-off of French banking shares. As for employment, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell 7,000 to 395,000 last week. It was the first time for weekly data to dip below 400,000 in four months, indicating an improving job market and offering comfort to anxious investors. However, the U.S. trade deficit widened to 53.1 billion in June, the largest since October 2008. Both imports and exports declined as global demand slowed, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday. "The retail numbers are good but the confidence number is horrible," David Yan, head of CDO Research of Credit Suisse, told Xinhua. "I think there is enough evidence suggesting a significant slowdown, but whether there will be another recession or not is still unclear -- I personally doubt it," Yan said. Yan favored tech stocks, especially big-cap names with strong balance sheet, and other high dividend stocks with reasonable valuations. He added that he did not think people would necessarily reduce exposure to stocks, although that is contingent on whether the U.S. economy will have another recession. Ralph Acampora, director of tactical investments at Altaira Wealth Management, holds bullish opinions and believes right now is a good opportunity to buy.