Kyrgyzstan's parliament has rejected President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's choice of prime minister for a second time, deepening a political crisis in the strategically located Central Asian state.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has flown to India on a mission to rejuvenate ties with Moscow's former Cold War ally and push for multi-billion dollar energy and weapons deals.

Thirty insurgents were killed and 26 arrested during a fierce battle with Iraqi and US troops for control of a Sunni rebel bastion in the heart of Baghdad, state television reported Thursday.

China's confirmation that it tested an anti-satellite weapon is refueling debate in the United States between proponents of space regulation and those who insist on Washington's absolute free rein.

The first Afghan, Pakistan and NATO intelligence sharing centre is due to open formally in Kabul in a drive to improve coordination in the protracted fight against the Taliban and other extremists.

Hong Kong's political leader Donald Tsang has indicated he will set a date for the introduction of universal suffrage soon after the start of his expected second term, according to a report.

An international donors conference for Lebanon has opened in Paris with the United States, France and the European Union pledging close to two billion dollars to support the embattled government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

Two Ecuadoran military helicopters have collided killing Defense Minister Guadalupe Larriva, her daughter and the two pilots near an air base on the Pacific coast, the government said.

The US risks unnecessarily inflaming Russia with its planned anti-missile defence system in eastern Europe, designed to intercept attacks from the Middle East and North Korea, experts warn.

South Korea has ruled out any summit with rival North Korea until it agrees to scrap its nuclear weapons programme.

President Hugo Chavez said his friend and ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, retired from public life for the last six months, had sent him a signed letter via visiting Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage.

US President George W. Bush received a stinging rebuke of his Iraq policy, as a Senate panel condemned his plan to pour more US troops into the war-ravaged country.

Iraqi and US forces launched a major assault to wrest control of a central Baghdad district from insurgents after US President George W. Bush urged Americans to back a make-or-break security plan for Iraq.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel lectured global leaders on the perils of protectionism, as the annual Davos forum kicked off with bullish predictions on growth but warnings about global warming.

Government leaders in the Czech Republic approved the opening of negotiations with the United States over the siting of a US missile defence system there, President Vaclav Klaus announced.

The United States will pledge 770 million dollars in new aid to Lebanon as part of a major international drive to rebuild the country and bolster the embattled pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

A Turkish court has jailed the suspected teenage murderer of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, but no immediate charges were brought against him, his lawyer said.

France's right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy stands accused of abusing his powers as interior minister by ordering a police probe into an ally of his rival, Segolene Royal.

Snowstorms have swept across west and central Europe for a second day, killing three people in Germany, disrupting air traffic and leaving dozens of drivers trapped on freezing, logjammed roads.

New UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has hailed the EU's "vital" contribution and called for its help in reforming the world body into a more efficient and effective instrument to solve global problems.