Digest of international news for the week

World leaders gather to make fresh bid to chart out a common envt blueprint amid economic woes

Saturday

Riyadh: Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, a half brother of King Abdullah, dies leaving the oil powerhouse with no apparent successor to the throne.

Beijing: China sends its first woman astronaut in space as part of a three-member team to conduct its maiden manned docking, in its most ambitious space venture that will put it in an exclusive club.

Sunday

Abuja: At least 34 people are killed and 90 others injured in suicide bomb attacks targeting churches in northern Nigeria.

Athens: The pro-bailout New Democracy party comes in first today in Greece's national election and could gather enough support to form a pro-bailout coalition to keep the country in the eurozone.

Monday

Moscow: Iran and world powers fail to move any closer to a breakthrough in the standoff over the Iranian nuclear programme at talks in Moscow seen as a last chance to solve the crisis diplomatically.

Washington: Terming Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's recent India visit as highly successful, the Pentagon refutes the Taliban statement that New Delhi resisted his call for greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan.

Los Cabos (Mexico): Setting the tone for the crucial G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the world economy is in "deep trouble" and hoped the grouping of developed and developing countries will come up with constructive proposals to pull the world out of this crisis.

Cairo: Egypt appears to be headed towards its first radical Islamic president with Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi declaring victory in the poll runoff, but the ruling military issued an interim constitution making clear that the Generals' plan to keep control for now.

Beijing: Three Chinese astronauts including the country's first spacewoman successfully coupled their spaceship with an orbiting module and later entered it creating history amid cheers from ground staff, in a live telecast show.

Tuesday

Moscow: Iran and world powers fail to narrow differences over the Iranian nuclear drive after bruising talks in Moscow held amid threats of a crippling oil embargo or even military action against Tehran.

Los Cabos: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh voice concern over the very slow progress in IMF's quota reforms and asserted that quotas must reflect economic weight in a manner that is simple and transparent.

Islamabad: In a dramatic turn of events, Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and ruled that he "ceased" to be in office since April 26 when it convicted and sentenced him for contempt.

Wednesday

Rio de Janeiro: World leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gather to make a fresh bid to chart out a common environmental blueprint amid economic woes and discord, as a crucial summit on sustainable development opened here.

Athens: The head of Greece's conservative party, Antonis Samaras, has been sworn in as prime minister to head a three- party coalition that will uphold the country's international bailout commitments.

Thursday

Rio de Janeiro: India and China agree to step up their defence and security dialogue and work to take steps to ensure that the two countries achieve a USD 100 billion trade target by 2015.

Islamabad: Leader of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party Asif Ali Zardari has chosen veteran politician Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the replacement for ousted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Friday

Islamabad: Raja Parvez Ashraf, a stalwart of the ruling PPP, becomes Pakistan's new Prime Minister as the country struggled to come out of its latest political crisis.

Rio De Janeiro: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hits out at industrialised countries over the issue of making available additional finance and technology to help developing world reduce carbon emissions, saying there is "little evidence" of support for them.

Beijing: Meeting for the first time, Prime Ministers of China and Bhutan have agreed to establish diplomatic relations and resolve their border dispute.