NATO set an "irreversible" course out of Afghanistan on Monday but President Barack Obama admitted the Western alliance's plan to end the deeply unpopular war in 2014 was fraught with peril.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced the country’s new government and signed a decree in this effect on May 21.

Timor-Leste celebrated its 10th anniversary of restoration of independence on May 20, as the country is seeking greater economy and social development in the next decade.

Serbian nationalist Tomislav Nikolic upset the odds to defeat incumbent Boris Tadic in a presidential run-off on Sunday but vowed to pursue his predecessor's drive for the Balkans nation to join the European Union.

World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalising a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis.

A strong earthquake killed four people, injured dozens and damaged churches, towers and a mediaeval castle early on Sunday, waking terrified citizens across northern Italy and sending thousands running into the streets.

Greece on Thursday named a caretaker cabinet of technocrats, headed by a senior judge, tasked with organising fresh elections in June after an inconclusive ballot on May 6 that has raised eurozone concern.

About 70 soldiers from Burkina Faso were deployed in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, the advance party of a 600-strong West African force that is due to replace Angolan troops and oversee a transition back to civilian rule.

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.

Jean-Marc Ayrault, a moderate Socialist with an affinity for Germany, took office as France's prime minister on Wednesday and got to work by naming his Cabinet - a lineup that includes allies and veterans of previous governments.

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 Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is organising an art competition from May to July to commemorate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN on August 8.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday presented nominations to newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin for a new Russian cabinet that is expected to contain major changes.

Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover at the Elysee Palace in central Paris.

Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with the President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during the fifth Trilateral Summit Meeting in Beijing on May 14.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez strode, sang and gave a rousing speech on Friday after his latest cancer treatment in Cuba.

The 3rd ASEAN Conference on Human Resources took place in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, focusing on developing skills to create a highly mobile and skilled workforce in ASEAN.

A Victory Day military parade took place in Red Square on Wednesday to commemorate 67 years since victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The parade was reviewed by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and addressed by President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's lower house of parliament confirmed former president Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a job swap with Vladimir Putin that has sparked protests against the two leaders' grip on power.

Vladimir Putin on Monday took his oath of office to become Russia's president for a historic third mandate at a glittering ceremony inside the Kremlin.