At least 31 Syrian civilians and soldiers were killed in fighting over Syria's future that coincided with a vote on a new constitution that could keep President Bashar al-Assad in power until 2028.
A suicide bombing claimed by al Qaeda killed at least 26 people outside a presidential palace in southern Yemen, hours after the newly-elected president was sworn in and said the battle against the Islamists was a "national duty".
Syria will hold a referendum tomorrow on a new constitution, dismissed by the opposition as a charade amid an intensifying crackdown on the 11-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Germany may not be ready to back an increase in Europe's bailout fund at a summit next week, delaying efforts to meet international demands for Europe to strengthen its defenses against the region's sovereign debt crisis.
Iran has yet to give an explanation over a small quantity of missing uranium metal from a research site, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a report that voiced concern over possible military links to Tehran's nuclear programme.
Italian judges on Saturday ended former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of bribing British lawyer David Mills, saying the statute of limitations meant that too much time had passed for a verdict to be reached.
Roy Lichtenstein's comic book-inspired painting "Sleeping Girl," is expected to fetch up to $40 million when it is sold at auction in New York in May, Sotheby's said on Friday.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital for treatment for a "long-standing abdominal complaint", the government said.
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians who threw rocks and firebombs towards them in a West Bank clash that erupted after a funeral for a protester killed a day earlier.
The king of Spain's son-in-law appeared in court on charges of fraud and embezzlement in a case which threatens to tarnish a royal family credited with steering the country from dictatorship to democracy.