Maulvi Abdul Samad walked into the governor’s compound in the capital of Uruzgan province on a sunny, cold morning leading 13 of his fighters, veterans of countless battles, armed to the teeth with Kalashnikovs, machine guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers.

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The Palestinian athletics coach Mousa Qadoum was so overcome by emotion upon entering the al-Aqsa mosque yesterday that he collapsed into silent tears.

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France's renewed push for eurobonds and an easing of austerity policies across the eurozone as an emergency solution to the continent's sovereign debt crisis met firm resistance from Germany yesterday.

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They call him "The Crazy One" but, judging by the sobering nature of his debut press conference, the suspected cocaine baron Daniel Jesus Elizondo came from a more calculated school of organised criminals.

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Wang Lijun, the police chief who triggered China's worst political scandal for two decades when he sought sanctuary at the US consulate in Chengdu with revelations about his ally and mentor Bo Xilai, will be charged with treason as early as next month.

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Aung San Suu Kyi will finally get a chance to deliver her acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, nearly 21 years after she won it.

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The great nephew of the Australian serial killer Ivan Milat was yesterday convicted of a brutal murder in the remote bushland south of Sydney where his relative killed seven young backpackers two decades earlier.

More than 100 years after it was created by a flood – and following decades of environmental degradation – California's once-famous Salton Sea is six weeks from falling off the tourist map, thanks to the state's fiscal crisis.

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In a remote corner of Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo, a Malayan sun bear is pacing back and forth, shaking its head in an agitated manner. There is no shade or shelter in the tiny, dilapidated enclosure – just a stagnant pond full of rubbish. The bear, which is riddled with mange, rears up against a concrete wall and howls.

The charismatic Greek leftist who could determine the fate of the euro begins a tour of European capitals yesterday carrying a single message: it's time to talk.

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