Digest of international news for the week

Saturday

London: More than 700 people have been charged with violence and looting for four days of unprecedented street violence that shook Britain last week as authorities announced that they would maintain emergency policing levels through the week end and beyond if necessary.

Kathmandu: Political crisis in Nepal deepens as a crucial meeting of the main parties failed to agree on a national unity government even as the embattled Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal refused to quit till a consensus is formed on a new coalition.

Sunday

Kathmandu: Nepal's embattled Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal resigns, succumbing to intense pressure from the main opposition Nepali Congress and his key ally Maoists, throwing the country into a fresh political crisis.

Islamabad: Seventeen people, including a journalist, were killed and dozens injured in bomb attacks and violence in the restive Balochistan province, while Taliban terrorists shot dead three soldiers in north Waziristan region as Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day.

Monday

Cairo: The historic trial of Egypt's fallen president Hosni Mubarak is adjourned till September 5 after he returned to court, wheeled on a stretcher and caged, to answer charges for ordering the killing of over 800 people, while his followers and opponents scuffled on the streets.

Kut (Iraq): Attacks in more than a dozen cities across Iraq kills 66 people, including 40 in twin blasts in the southern city of Kut, in the country's bloodiest day this year.

Tuesday

Benghazi: Libya's rebels say their war against Muammar Gaddafi's regime had entered a "decisive phase" and that victory was within reach by the end of August.

Moscow: Working on the hypersonic version of its supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos Aerospace signs an MoU with Russian aviation institutions to establish a centre of excellence for developing technology for high speed aircraft and missiles.

Wednesday

Moscow: Russia and Iran say a new Russian plan had a real chance of solving the standoff over the Iranian nuclear drive, despite the failure of past initiatives to end a decade of deadlock.

Kathmandu: Nepal vows not to allow its soil for any anti-China activities, as a high-level visiting Chinese delegation announced a $50 million aid for security cooperation and development projects in the country.

Thursday

Jerusalem: Heavily armed militants from Gaza infiltrate into southern Israel through Egypt's Sinai peninsula, launching a series of coordinated attacks claiming seven lives, prompting a reprisal strike that killed six people in the Palestinian territory.

Kabul: A roadside bomb kills at least 21 passengers travelling on a minibus today in western Afghanistan, another example of civilians being caught in the crossfire of fighting between Taliban insurgents and the US-led coalition.

Friday

Zawiyah: Libyan rebels claim to have taken two more key objectives in their advance on Tripoli, including the refinery town of Zawiyah, as people scrambled to flee the increasingly isolated capital.

Damascus: Syrian forces kill at least 22 protesters as tens of thousands swarmed the streets after Friday prayers, activists said, a day after President Bashar al-Assad pledged that assaults on civilians had ended.