Chinese police have arrested a human rights advocate in the country's southwest for "illegal possession of state secrets" after he offered help to parents of children killed in the region's massive earthquake, a rights group said.

Nepal was set to elect its first president on Saturday, from a marginalised ethnic community whose violent demand for a greater say in running the government once threatened a peace deal with Maoist former rebels.

Pope Benedict apologised on Saturday for sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia, saying those responsible should be brought to justice.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, on the first leg of a trip aimed at proving his foreign policy credentials that will also take in the Middle East and Europe.

Pope Benedict called for all religions to unite against terrorism and resolve conflicts peacefully on Friday and heard an Islamic leader urge Christians to overcome "misconceptions and prejudices" of Muslims.

World powers should heed the concerns of African and Arab states in responding to genocide charges against Sudan's president, China's envoy on Darfur said, warning that judicial steps could imperil peace efforts.

Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim has been freed on police bail, his lawyers said on Thursday, but they added he could still be charged for sodomy later.

Former Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee, one of South Korea's most powerful businessmen, was handed a suspended 3-year jail sentence on Wednesday for tax evasion but was cleared of other charges.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been arrested by police, his lawyer Sankara Nair said on Wednesday.

Indonesia's president expressed regret on Tuesday for violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence ballot after a joint probe blamed state institutions for "gross human rights violations".

South Korea's coastguard said on Tuesday it had stepped up patrols near islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with Japan, a day after Seoul recalled its ambassador in anger at new Japanese claims to the rocky outcrops.

Anti-protest laws imposed for Pope Benedict's visit to Sydney this week, which could see protesters arrested for annoying Catholic pilgrims, were unconstitutional, a court ruled on Tuesday.

Insurgents killed nine U.S. soldiers in an assault on an Afghan army and NATO outpost in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, making it one of the worst days for foreign troops casualties in the country since 2001.

Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim refused to meet police on Monday over sodomy accusations against him, his lawyer said, challenging the authorities to serve an order on him.

The ruling party of South Korea's president said on Monday it wanted dialogue with North Korea over the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at a resort in the North to prevent already frayed ties from being further damaged.

Pope Benedict arrived in Australia on Sunday for an international Catholic youth festival and promised to apologise for a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church in the country.

China has executed two Uighurs and sentenced another 15 to jail for alleged terrorist links, the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia said in a report just days after Beijing warned of attacks aimed at the Olympics.

China said on Saturday that sanctions against Zimbabwe's government would "complicate", rather than ease, conflict in the troubled African country, defending its decision to veto a proposed U.N. resolution.

Pakistan has reached a "broad understanding" with the United Nations on aspects of a proposed U.N. investigation into the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto but details remain to be worked out, its foreign minister said on Thursday.