Asia

• A verdict for the trial of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been delayed until Aug. 11. 
• With his poll numbers dropping, Japanese PM Taro Aso proposed a new plan to help the country's economy recover. 
• Pakistan's Supreme Court will not launch a treason case against former leader Pervez Musharraf.

Europe

• Italy legalized the abortion drug RU-286, over the objections of the Catholic Church. 
• Spanish authorities are on high alert for the 50th anniversary of ETA.
• The British government has begun a public inquiry into the country's involvement in the Iraq war. 

Middle East

• Multiple bombings killed 24 people as they were leaving Friday prayers at three Shiite mosques in Baghdad.  
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied any rift between Iran's supreme leader and himself. 
• A new Israeli government report defends Israel's campaign in Gaza this year as "necessary and appropriate."

Africa

• As gun battles between police and Islamist militants continued in Nigeria, a sect leader was killed in police custody. 
• The UN Security Council is calling for elections in the Ivory Coast. 
• Scott Gration, the U.S. envoy to Sudan, recommended taking the country off the UN blacklist. 

Americas

• The United States signed a UN treaty affirming the rights of the disabled. 
• Honduran police are cracking down on pro-Zelaya protesters. 
• The Venezuelan National Assembly is considering a new law to regulate private media. 

Europe

• There was another bombing this morning targeting Spain's Civil Guard, this time on the island of Majorca. 
• The ruling communists failed to win a majority in Moldova's elections.  
• Serbian officials say they are closing in on wanted war criminal Ratko Mladic.

Middle East

• Police broke up a memorial service for protesters killed in Iran's post-election demonstrations.
• In a message to President Obama's envoys, Israeli settlers inaugurated 11 new outposts on the West Bank.  
• Violence broke out between Iraqi security forces and Iranian exiles at Iraq's controversial Camp Ashraf. 

Asia

• China is closing several coal plants in a move to reduce air pollution. 
• A group claiming to be the Indonesian arm of Al Qaeda is taking credit for last week's bombing in Jakarta. 
• With a verdict expected shortly in the Aung San Suu Kyi trial, the Burmese government is warning against protests.

Africa

• Nigerian troops killed more than 100 in an attack on a militant mosque. 
• Large parts of West Africa were cut off from the internet after a fiber optic cable was cut. 
• The U.S. warned Eritrea that it will face sanctions if it continues supporting Somali insurgents. 

Americas

• Interim Honduras President Roberto Micheletti is calling for new talks and sources say he may be willing to allow the return of ousted president Manuel Zelaya under certain conditions. 
• Two prominent Mexican police officials were killed by drug traffickers in separate attacks. 
• Cuba signed a $150 million oil deal with Russia.

Middle East

• Reformist Iranian journalist Saeed Hajjarian will be released from prison. The first trials of election protesters will begin this weekend. 
• U.S. commander Gen. Ray Odierno said the Iraqi military won't be ready to take over the country's air defenses by the time the U.S. military is scheduled to pull out in 2011.
• The U.S. is taking steps to ease diplomatic sanctions on Syria. 

Asia and Pacific

• Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will speak to India's parliament today to defend his efforts to improve relations with Pakistan. 
• Police broke up a rally by opposition members protesting the results of the recent presidential election in Kyrgyzstan.
• Fiji will likely be suspended from the commonwealth after the country's military ruler replaced the president this week. 

Europe

• Ireland has agreed to take in two inmates from Guantanamo Bay. 
• Moldovans began voting in new national elections aimed at breaking the country's political deadlock.

Americas

• Venezuela's Hugo Chavez suspended diplomatic ties with Colombia after being accused of supporting the FARC rebels.  
• The FARC has denied giving money to the campaign of Ecuador's President Raphael Correa.
• The United States has revoked the visas of four officials from Honduras's interim government. 

Africa

• Nigerian police rescued 180 women and children held hostage by Islamist rebels.
• The Zimbabwean opposition party's youth leader was arrested over a stolen cell phone. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says it is part of a pattern of harassment of opposition officials.
• Thousands of Somalis are attempting to flee across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. 

Middle East

• U.S. envoy George Mitchell is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to discuss the ongoing dispute over Israel's West Bank settlements.
• Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is calling for new street protests this week. 
• U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq for a tour of U.S. facilities. 

Asia

• The Afghan government says it has reached a ceasefire with the local Taliban commander in a small part of Northern Afghanistan. 
• Under pressure from China, Nepal is increasingly cracking down on Tibetan refugee groups. 
• A verdict is expected in the Aung San Suu Kyi case on Friday. 

Americas

• The Honduran Congress is considering an Amnesty proposal aimed at ending the country's political crisis. 
• El Salvador has closed schools nationwide for a week in an effort to combat swine flu.
• Mexico has announced a new program to try drug users in special courts aimed at rehabilitation. 

Africa

• A curfew has been imposed in Northern Nigeria after days of violence by Islamist rebels. 
• South Africa's municipal workers' strike has turned violent in parts of the country.
• The EU has announced a plan to train Somali security forces to fight piracy. 

Europe

• EU foreign ministers are fast-tracking Iceland's application for membership. 
• Eight suspected militants were killed by Russian security forces in Dagestan. 
• The Archbishop of Canterbury said the Anglican Church may have to accept a "two-track model" to address a growing schism over homosexuality.

Middle East

• After firing two cabinet ministers, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be facing a confidence vote in parliament. 
• Election results are expected today for Iraqi Kurdistan. The region's two main parties are expected to be returned to power.  
• A Saudi man became the Middle East's first swine flu fatality. 

Asia

• Maoist rebels in eastern India killed six soldiers in a bus bombing. 
• China is condemning a visit by exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kedeer to Japan. 
• India has launched its first nuclear submarine.

Africa

• Islamist rebel are expanding their attacks against government security forces in Northern Nigeria.
• Thousands of public sector workers have gone on strike in South Africa, demanding higher wages. 
• Guinea-Bissau is holding a runoff vote for its presidential election. 

Americas

• Ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya remains camped out with supporters in Nicaragua after a failed attempt to cross the border last Friday. 
• Paraguay has renegotiated a hydroelectric energy deal with Brazil, ending a longstanding grievance. 
• Mexico has arrested four suspects in the murder of a U.S. border patrol officer last week. 

Europe

• British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is calling for negotiation with more moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan. 
• Russian Patriarch Kirill is in Ukraine trying to reassert control over the Ukrainian Orthodox church. 
• French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released from the hospital after collapsing while jogging. 

Asia

• OSCE monitors say Kyrgyzstan's presidential election was marred by ballot stuffing and miscounting. Current President Kurmanbek Bakiyev won with 85 percent of the vote, but the opposition is protesting the result. 
• The trial of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will resume today.
• Afghan president Hamid Karzai says he will create new regulations on foreign troops to prevent civilian deaths. 

Middle East

• The United States and Israel have accused Hezbollah of violating a weapons embargo in Southern Lebanon. 
• Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi's brother-in-law has been arrested.
• Security forces killed 12 anti-government protesters in Southern Yemen. 

Americas

• Continuing his tour of Latin America, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a dire warning about Iran's nuclear program in a speech in Argentina. 
• Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has asked the Farc rebels to confirm whether they donated money to his presidential campaign. 

Africa

• Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz -- who led a military coup last year -- has been declared the winner of last weekend's presidential elections.
• Four Gabonese ministers were arrested after opposing the candidacy of the son of former leader Omar Bongo.
• Nigeria's oil revenue was cut in half in the first quarter of 2009 as a result of MEND attacks. 

Europe

• Airport workers in the French city of Roissy detained their boss overnight to demand better layoff terms. 
• Gordon Brown's Labour Party was defeated in a by-election brought on by the recent MP's expenses scandal. 
• Massive wildfires are spreading throughout Southern Europe. 

Europe

• Another Russian human rights activist has been found dead. His colleagues suspect murder.
• As Vice President Joe Biden visited Georgia, Russia vowed to prevent it from rearming. 
• Iceland has formally applied to join the European Union. 

Middle East

• In a rare show of defiance, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has insisted on his choice for vice president, despite the objections of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 
• After meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Obama called for a new, broader post-war relationship between the U.S. and Iraq.
• Police dispersed a crowd of protesters in central Tehran. 

Asia

• U.S. officials believe that Osama bin Laden's son may have been killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.  
• President Hamid Karzai says he will not participate in Afghanistan's first televised presidential debate. 
• Kyrgyzstan holds presidential elections today.

Americas

• Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he will attempt to return to his country on Friday. 
• Mexico has arrested four men accused of involvement in the murders of 12 federal police in Mihoacan.
• Several of Colombia's neighbors are objecting to a U.S. military buildup in the country.

Africa

• Leaders from North and South Sudan vowed to respect the border ruling by the international arbitration court at the Hague yesterday. 
• Somali insurgents attacked government troops and peacekeepers in Mogadishu last night. Sixteen people were killed.
• South Africa's government says it will crack down on the rioting that is spreading through the country's townships. 

Middle East

• Iran's Supreme Leader rejected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's choice for vice president because of past pro-Israel remarks. 
• Iraq's Nuri al-Maliki will meet with President Obama today in order to encourage more foreign investment in Iraq. On ForeignPolicy.com, Sam Parker looks at how the once-weak Maliki became the dominant force in Iraqi politics. 
• Amnesty International has accused Saudi Arabia of using its antiterror operations as a cover for "gross human rights abuses."

Asia

• Pakistan is objecting to the expansion of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan on the ground that it will drive Taliban militants across the border. 
• Kyrgyzstan votes in a presidential election today, though President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is almost guaranteed to win.
• Pakistan's Supreme Court has called former President Pervez Musharraf to testify about his imposition of emergency rule in 2007. 

Africa

• An international arbitration court awarded Sudan a disputed oil field. 
• Somalia's Shabab rebels are increasingly crossing the border into Kenya. 
• Nigeria's MEND rebels have released six crewmembers from an oil tanker they seized three weeks ago. 

Europe

• After meeting Ukraine's leaders, Vice President Joe Biden is headed to Georgia.
• The EU approved a new plan to keep Poland's historic Gdansk shipyard open.
• A car bomb exploded outside a police station on the French island of Corsica.  

Americas

• With little progress in negotiations, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he is looking at other options for a return to power. 
• Honduras has expelled Venezuela's ambassadors over Hugo Chavez's support for Zelaya. 
• Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has already run into controversy on his Latin American tour after a senior Brazilian official called him a "fascist."