Marking 30 years of the HIV- AIDS pandemic, scores of heads of state and government and ministers took to the UN General Assembly podium on Wednesday to list their country's accomplishments and list challenges in the battle.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in central and southern China after continuous downpours caused heavy flooding.

A looming US decision on troop drawdowns in Afghanistan could include a timeline for pulling out 30,000 "surge" forces deployed last year, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon formally put himself forward for a second five-year term on Monday and diplomats said his re-election could be wrapped up by the end of the month.

 Before the motion was debated, Mr Kan told his party he would step down when the crises were under control. He was trying to head off a rebellion by senior members of his party which could have forced him from power.

The prices of staple foods will more than double in 20 years unless world leaders take action to reform the global food system, Oxfam has warned.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a 40-billion-U.S.-dollar aid package for Egypt and Tunisia at the end of the G8 summit on Friday as the club of economic powers joined a race against time to shore up the gains of the Arab changes.

A shallow-undersea quake with a magnitude of 6.3 jolted Sumatra island early May 29, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency reported here.

The Arab League says it will seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

China's military has set up an elite Internet security task force tasked with fending off cyberattacks, state media reported on Friday, denying that the initiative is intended to create a "hacker army".

A senior Palestinian official in Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said on Friday that the national unity government is to be formed in ten days.

World leaders are in the French resort of Deauville for a summit of the G8 bloc of wealthy nations.

Cambodia will delegate Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong to attend the International Court of Justice (ICJ) trial over its dispute with Thailand about Preah Vihear temple, scheduled to open in Hague, the Netherlands, from May 30-31.

Japan fell into a trade deficit in April as exports tumbled at the fastest pace in 18 months on supply chain disruptions after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to statistics from the Finance Ministry on May 25.