Colonels John Rossi (r) and Steve Braverman speak to reporters outside Fort Hood, 06 Nov 2009

US - ARMY BASE SHOOTING: The U.S. Army is dispatching dozens of trauma and grief counselors and military chaplains to Fort Hood, Texas following Thursday's shooting rampage that left 13 people dead and 30 others wounded. Authorities say the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, fired a semi-automatic weapon and another gun at soldiers and civilians inside a building before he was shot four times by a civilian police officer. The Army refused to discuss possible motives for the shooting, but President Barack Obama and other officials warned against jumping to conclusions as the investigation proceeds.

PM Gordon Brown delivers a speech to the Royal College of Defense Studies on Britain's position on the war in Afghanistan, 06 Nov 2009

UN - AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry has rejected comments from the top U.N. official in the country warning President Hamid Karzai to combat corruption or risk losing international support. A Foreign Ministry statement issued Saturday says U.N. special representative Kai Eide "exceeded his authority as a representative of an impartial international organization." On Thursday, Eide said the Afghan government risks support by allowing - in his words - "warlords and power-brokers" to "play their own games." The Afghan Foreign Ministry defended the Karzai administration, saying it has made combatting corruption one of the "pre-conditions for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan."

A Pakistani tribal family flee from South Waziristan due to military offensive, 01 Nov 2009

UN - PAKISTAN - REFUGEES: The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it is increasing assistance to the thousands of Pakistanis displaced by military operations against the Taliban in South Waziristan. A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says the agency will distribute nearly 35,000 tents to displaced families now living in the North West Frontier Province. UNHCR says most of the 175,000 refugees it has helped are staying with family and friends, but some are staying in camps. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled South Waziristan since the Pakistani military launched an offensive against Taliban militants last month.

Former Judge Richard Goldstone, left, Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights South African Nava Pillay in Geneva, Switzerland (File)

UN - GAZA: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he will send the U.N. Security Council a controversial report accusing Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas of committing war crimes during their conflict in Gaza nearly a year ago. The move comes one day after the U.N. General Assembly voted to endorse the so-called Goldstone Report. It is named after South African jurist Richard Goldstone, who led a U.N. fact-finding mission in Gaza. While the report criticized both sides, it accused the Jewish state of using disproportionate force in its response to rocket attacks by Gaza-based militants. It also calls on Israel and the Palestinians to conduct domestic investigations into the alleged war crimes.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks after proposing a 30-seat coalition cabinet more than three months after his alliance won the general election, 07 Sep 2009

LEBANON - POLITICS: Lebanon's opposition, which includes Hezbollah, has agreed to a unity government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. Sources say opposition leaders reached the agreement during meetings late Friday, and that a new Cabinet could be formed within the next two days. Mr. Hariri heads a U.S. and Saudi backed coalition that won June elections over Hezbollah-allied politicians backed by Syria and Iran. Since then he has made it his top priority to form a unity government, but the effort was impeded by disagreements over who would fill key Cabinet positions.

Former Madagascan Pres. Marc Ravalomanana (L) walks into a meeting in Addis Ababa for talks with Madagascar's main political parties on 04 Nov 2009

MADAGASCAR - POLTITICS: Madagascar's top political leaders have reached a power-sharing agreement to run the volatile island-nation until scheduled elections next year. The country's disputed leader, Andry Rajoelina, was the first to announce the deal at talks in Ethiopia late Friday, followed by U.N. mediator Tiebile Drame. Mr. Rajoelina says he will remain president, with the country's other main political factions getting two co-president posts in a newly created presidential council and the post of prime minister.

Actor Jon Voight speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a Republican health care reform rally, 05 Nov 2009

US - HEALTH CARE: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking sweeping reform of the U.S. health care system. The deal, agreed to late Friday night, would allow the entire House to vote on an amendment limiting abortion coverage. Under the amendment, only people buying private insurance and without any federal subsidies would be able to buy policies that cover abortion. The only exceptions would be in the case of rape, incest, or when the mother's life was in danger.

Yukio Hatoyama

JAPAN - MEKONG SUMMIT: Japan wrapped up a summit with five Mekong River countries Saturday, after pledging $5.5 billion in aid over the next three years for the Southeast Asian region. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Tokyo Friday at the beginning of the two-day meeting with leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. Japan has been one of the biggest donors of foreign aid for the Mekong River region, which stretches about 4,800 kilometers and has been scarred by decades of war and internal unrest. (News Updates)

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