Digest of international news for the week

The Vatican gets a new Pope, Xi Jinping becomes China's President, Delhi gangrape victim gets Women of Courage Award from the US

Saturday

Washington: Known to India and the world as 'Nirbhaya' (Fearless), the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, whose brutal gang rape on a moving bus in Delhi in December inspired widespread protests, has been posthumously presented with the International Women of Courage Award.

Beijing: Set to get elected next week as China's new President, Xi Jinping will hold his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of BRICS summit to be held later this month in South Africa.

Cairo: An Egyptian court upheld death sentences against 21 convicts of last year's deadly soccer riot that killed 74 people, and acquitted 28 others, sparking off widespread violence that claimed at least two lives in the deeply polarised country.

Sunday

Male: Ahead of the crucial Presidential polls, election officials of India and Maldives prepared a roadmap for future cooperation to improve voter confidence and reduce election related complaints in the island nation.

Monday

Chabhar (Iran): Unfazed by US pressure, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari along with his Iranian counterpart inaugurated the much-delayed section of a $7.5 billion gas pipeline with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying West has no right to block the project.

Lahore: Thirty-five persons were remanded to custody by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for their alleged role in the attack on a Christian neighbourhood even as missionary organisations closed their schools to protest the incident that triggered national outrage.

Washington: Describing America's relations with India as one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, the US said that it "fervently" supports India's rise.

Tuesday

Port Louis: India and Mauritius express confidence over resolving their differences on Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) when the two sides meet in New Delhi next month.

Port Louis: President Pranab Mukherjee attended the national day celebrations of Mauritius as the chief guest, with the event featuring performances of local and foreign artists, including a contingent of Indian Navy and singer Shibani Kashyap.

Wednesday

Vatican City: Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis I, becoming the church's first Latin American pontiff after a conclave to elect a leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Kathmandu: A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has endorsed the decision by Nepal's four major political parties to form an election government, paving the way for Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi to be sworn-in as the country's new leader.

Thursday

Dhaka: Bangladesh police arrested a sub-district chairman and local leader of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami for inciting attacks on Hindus and temples in southeastern Chittagong as minorities appeared to be targets of past two weeks of violence over 1971 war crimes trial.

Beijing: Xi Jinping emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades after he was elected as the President and powerful military chief, besides being the head of the ruling Communist Party, smoothly completing a 10-yearly transition of power in the world's second-largest economy.

Friday

Colombo: Sri Lanka released 34 of the 53 Indian fishermen who were taken into custody by its Navy. The fishermen were handed over to Indian officials in Delft from where they will be brought to Jaffna. The released fishermen would stay in Jaffna pending repatriation.

Colombo: Ahead of a crucial vote in UNHRC over its its alleged human rights violations, Sri Lanka asked the international community to adopt a balanced approach towards its achievements and sought more "time and space" to resolve all outstanding issues.