UN chief Ban Ki-moon joined Western leaders in condemning Damascus after Syrian forces killed at least 75 people during "Good Friday" protests in one of the bloodiest days of a month-long uprising.

The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant is considering installing underground walls around its crippled reactors to prevent radioactive water seeping out, a broadcaster said on Saturday.

An anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of LeT's Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the Mumbai attack case today said it would give its ruling next week on an application challenging the contention of the defence that Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari cannot be re-tried in Pakistan.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard vowed on Thursday to help Japan recover from last month's earthquake and tsunami by securing natural resources and rare earth minerals for the Asian country.

A South Korean container ship has been attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean and is believed to have been hijacked, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

Iran on Thursday hanged four men convicted of murder and rape, Fars news agency reported, saying the executions were carried out in public in the Southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

Sixty-five militants were killed in fighting with the security forces in Eastern Afghanistan, Xinhua reported on Thursday. The fighting took place in the Baraki Barak district of the Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul.

Iraq's high criminal court on Thursday sentenced to death three Saddam Hussein-era spies who assassinated the father of a sitting Iraqi lawmaker in Beirut in April 1994.

A high-powered US Senate delegation led by lawmaker Harry Reid met senior Chinese officials in Beijing on Thursday for talks expected to touch on thorny economic issues and human rights.

Awami National chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, a top leader of Pakistan's ruling coalition, will make a week-long visit to India this week to attend the centennial celebrations of the Islamic University in New Delhi.