Saturday
Tripoli/Washington: Libyan rebels regain control of the strategic oil town of Ajdabiya after a week-long airstrikes by western coalition crippled Muammar Gaddafi's forces, amid indication that the tide may be turning against the emabattled leader.
Sanaa: Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh rebuffs opposition calls to step down saying his regime is firm, as his ruling party said he should serve out his term until 2013.
Sunday
Tokyo/Fukushima:Workers are evacuated from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant after radiation levels surged 10 million times higher than usual, dealing a major blow to efforts to avoid a meltdown of the reactors.
Brussels: NATO takes full command of military operations in Libya from a US-led coalition, enabling the alliance to strike at forces loyal to Moamer Kadhafi should they threaten civilians.
Monday
Tokyo/Fukushima: Highly radioactive water has leaked from a reactor building at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator of the crippled facility says, fuelling fears that the liquid may be seeping into the environment.
Damascus: Streets in Latakia, scene of Syria's latest deadly violence, are deserted while in Damascus President Bashar al-Assad readied to announce the end of emergency rule in place since 1963.
Tuesday
Tripoli/London: Mounting pressure on Muammar Gaddafi's to quit, world leaders vow to intensify air strikes to stop his "murderous attacks" on civilians as Libyan forces struck back at rebels advancing towards his hometown of Sirte, forcing them to retreat.
Tripoli/London: Libyan forces strike back at the rebels hampering their march towards Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte as world leaders gathered in London to map out his early exit from power.
Wednesday
Tokyo/Fukushima: Battling to contain its atomic crisis, Japan says it will scrap four stricken reactors at its Fukushima nuclear plant, as radiation seeping into seawater reached its highest level yet -- 3,355 times the usual amount -- and the President of the quake-hit facility's operator hospitalised.
Abidjan: Forces backing Ivory Coast's recognises president Alassane Ouattara today seized the capital Yamassoukrou as they moved rapidly south in a bid to wrest control after a disputed election.
Thursday
Tripoli/London: Muammar Gaddafi suffers a major blow with his foreign minister Moussa Koussa, a former intelligence chief, defecting to London, the first key aide to dump the Libyan leader even as his forces make rapid advances recapturing rebel-held Brega.
Tokyo/Fukushima: As Japan grapples with its worst atomic crisis in decades, Premier Naoto Kan says the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant must be scrapped as radiation seeping into sea tested 4,385 times the legal limit, but authorities ruled out expanding the evacuation zone.
Friday
Sanaa: A massive security operation keeps huge rival protests apart and split the Yemeni capital on another Friday political showdown on the streets between the president's backers and his foes.
New Delhi/Islamabad: India and Pakistan are back to bickering with an Indian High Commission official posted in Islamabad reported 'missing' and Pakistan protesting the brief "arrest" of a driver in its mission in New Delhi.
