News stories by Correspondents* - IPS/Al Jazeera, page 2

Kofi Annan, the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy on Syria, has welcomed Iranian support for his efforts to secure peace in the country, telling Tehran that it can be 'part of the solution'.

Gunfire from the Syrian side of the border has hit a refugee camp inside Turkey, wounding at least three people.

A spokesman for the main Tuareg rebel group, which recently seized the three largest areas in Mali's north, says it has declared a ceasefire, one day after the United Nations Security Council called for an end to violence in the West African nation.

Fierce clashes have been reported between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters in Douma, near the capital Damascus, and in other parts of the country, amid doubts over the government's declared commitment to meeting an imminent ceasefire deadline.

Mali's neighbours have threatened to use sanctions and a readiness to use military force to dislodge those behind last week's coup, urging them to quickly hand back power to civilian rulers.

Renegade Malian soldiers say they have ended the rule of President Amadou Toumani Toure after seizing control of the presidential palace and the state television station in the West African nation.

Two Iranians have been arrested and charged with plotting a bomb attack in Bangkok, according to Thailand's foreign minister.

Israeli diplomats have been targeted by car bombs in India and Georgia, leaving three injured and Israel's foreign minister promising a response.

The Syrian military is reportedly moving deeper into residential areas in the city of Homs, a day after the Russian foreign minister said President Bashar al-Assad was 'fully committed' to ending the bloodshed.

Pakistan has rejected as 'frivolous' a leaked NATO report which claims that the country's security services are helping the Taliban, and suggesting that the group believes it is poised to regain power.