Asif Ali Zardari, has been sworn as Pakistan's new president. Mr Zardari is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated earlier this year. Mr Zardari won a sweeping victory in a presidential election by legislators on Saturday. The elections were called after former President Pervez Musharraf opted to resign rather than risk impeachment. The main challenges facing the new president are severe economic problems, and growing Islamist insurgency. Saturday's voting was marred by a bomb in Peshawar city, in the country's troubled North-West frontier province, in which at least 30 people were killed. Mr Zardari is now expected to set out his priorities in his first presidential news conference.
Graham Usher, Saeed Shah and Nadeem Sarwar are following the political situation in Afghanistan.
 

North Korea says reports that its leader Kim Jong-il has collapsed following illness are a "conspiracy plot."

Mr Kim failed to appear at a military parade commemorating the 60th anniversary of the foundation of North Korea on Tuesday prompting speculation that he has health problems. A South Korean diplomat was earlier quoted as saying Mr Kim "almost certainly"
has health problems. Western intelligence officials said Mr Kim might have suffered a stroke.

The reclusive leader has not been seen in public since early last month. Although, he has been known to disappear from public view for extended periods in the past, rumours of ill health have been given more credibility by the news that a team of Chinese doctors was recently summoned to examine him. The future of the country is tightly linked to the personality of Kim Jong-il.

Jason Strother and Evan Ramstad in Seoul are following developments in North Korea.
 

Afghanistan has welcomed the US decision to send more troops, but repeated that the long-term key to defeating militants lay in the strengthening of Afghan security forces.

President George W Bush announced on Tuesday that the United States would send a fresh marine battalion and army combat brigade to Afghanistan by January and that 8,000 troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by February 2009.

The US has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, about half the number of foreign troops in the country. The decision comes at a time of growing anger among Afghans and the government about civilian casualties caused by foreign forces. On Monday, following investigations by the Afghan government and the UN, the US military announced it would re-open an investigation into a US air attack last month in which up to 90 civilians were reportedly killed. The move by the US comes as

Human Rights Watch says that civilian deaths from international air strikes nearly tripled between 2006 and 2007. The New York-based rights group warned that such attacks were undermining Afghan support for NATO and US troops. 

Jerome Starkey, Jon Boone and Tom Coghlan in Kabul are covering this story.

North Korea is close to finishing a second launch site for long-range missiles, reports say. The site, 50km from the Chinese border, was made public by Joseph Bermudez, an analyst at Jane's Intelligence Group, using satellite imagery. Reports say that South Korea's defence minister Lee Sang-Hee told a closed-door parliamentary session that the project was about 80% completed.

North Korea's moves to dismantle its nuclear programme have recently stalled and Pyongyang now appears to be starting to reassemble its main nuclear plant. North Korea had agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions in February 2007 in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.

After a long delay, Pyongyang handed over details of its nuclear facilities in June 2008 and had expected the US to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. However, progress has stalled as Washington and Pyongyang cannot agree on a process to verify the information that North Korea handed over. Jason Strother and

Evan Ramstad in Seoul are following developments in North Korea.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has called for a new strategy to combat militants across the border in Pakistan. Admiral Mike Mullen, speaking on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, called for a military strategy encompassing both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly stressed it will not allow foreign forces onto its territory. However, the New York Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that President George Bush had approved orders in July to allow US Special Operations forces to carry out ground operations inside Pakistan without the Pakistani government's approval.

LA Times correspondents James Gerstanzang, Peter Nicholas, Pentagon correspondent Nancy Youssef in Washington, D.C., Graham Usher and Nadeem Sarwar are covering this story.

US Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, says that she is "ready" to serve the US and has rejected criticism that she is not experienced enough, in her first US TV interview.

Speaking to ABC News, Mrs Palin was quizzed on previous comments she made describing the war in Iraq as being a "task from God". She said she was quoting the words of Abraham Lincoln and would "never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words".

The governor of Alaska was also questioned over foreign policy and said she backed NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Some observers were surprised when John McCain picked Mrs Palin to be his running mate, saying she lacked the necessary experience, especially in the foreign policy arena.

Washington Post correspondent Ed O'Keefe and LA Times correspondent Peter Nicholas in Washington are available for 2-ways.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe say they have reached a deal to share power.

Leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mr Tsvangirai, was the first to announce the breakthrough, telling reporters: "We've got a deal." South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has mediated the past four days of talks in Harare, later told a news conference that the two sides had agreed to form an inclusive government and would sign and make public the deal on Monday. Mr Mugabe has yet to comment on the deal.

This now opens the way for international donors to help revive Zimbabwe's collapsing economy.

Gretchen Wilson, Bill Corcoran and Sebastien Berger in Johannesburg and Zimbabwe expert Andrew Meldrum in Boston are available for 2-ways.

The fourth-largest investment bank in the US, Lehman Brothers, says it will file for bankruptcy protection, amid a growing global financial crisis.

The move, prompted by Lehman's losses of billions of dollars in the US mortgage market, has dealt another blow to the global financial system.

Merrill Lynch has also agreed to be taken over by the Bank of America, to prevent its collapse. The FTSE 100 index of leading UK shares was down 160 points, almost 3%, at 5256.50 in early exchanges.

Wall Street is also expected to open lower after a weekend of dramatic events. Stock markets in Europe and Asia dropped sharply and the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

Today promises to be a tense day of trading on Wall Street.

Philip Sherwell and Carole King in New York will be available for 2-ways.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are to sign an historic power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, bringing to an end many months of political turmoil.

Both Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF endorsed the deal over the weekend, local media report.

Leaks of the agreement suggest that Robert Mugabe will remain president and retain control over the army, but with reduced powers. Mr Tsvangirai will be the new prime minister with substantial power, including responsibility of the police.

The deal will open the way for international donors to restore funding to revive Zimbabwe's collapsing economy - the fastest shrinking in the world.

Sebastien Berger and Elles van Gelder in Harare, Gretchen Wilson and Bill Corcoran in Johannesburg are covering this story.

Two suspected car bombs have detonated close to the US embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Eye witnesses have also said an exchange of gunfire between embassy guards and unidentified attackers occurred. Casualties are reported, but there has been no official comment by Yemeni or US officials. Hundreds of heavily-armed troops have now been deployed around the US embassy compound. Reports say the attack occurred at about 0830 local time (0530 GMT). According to eyewitnesses, the gun battle lasted only a short time as security forces were quickly on the scene.

The government of Yemen, which backs America's "war on terror", has often blamed al-Qaeda for attacks on Western targets in the country. US special forces have been helping the government fight the Islamist militants. The US ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel from Yemen earlier this year after mortar bombs were fired towards the embassy.

Jennifer Steil in Sanaa is across this event.

Israel's governing Kadima party is due to hold elections to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader. Front-runners as his successor are Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz. Polls show Livni well ahead of Mofaz. Livni’s supporters believe she will breathe new life into a political establishment mired in sleaze and dominated by ageing male, former military figures. However, Livni is widely criticised for her lack of political experience.

Mofaz, a former army chief and defence minister, is famous for talking tough on the Palestinians and supporting an attack on Iran should it develop nuclear arms. Mr Olmert, currently being investigated for corruption, has stated he will step down as PM after his successor is chosen. He has vowed however to carry on with Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, following what was believed to be his last ever meeting with Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday. The US government wants to see a full Israeli-Palestinian peace deal reached before President George W Bush leaves office in January.

Tim Butcher and Annette Young in Jerusalem are covering this story.

Twelve more people have been arrested in China over the scandal of contaminated milk powder that has killed three babies and sickened thousands of others.

The total number of people in custody is now 18. Six are accused of selling the industrial chemical melamine. The suppliers to the dairy companies are believed to have added the substance, normally used in plastics, to watered-down milk to make it appear higher in protein.

In addition to the deaths, more than 1,300 other children, mostly newborns, remain hospitalized, with 158 suffering from acute kidney failure.

The crisis has raised questions about China’s commitment to tighten control on food safety after a series of scares in recent years over contaminated seafood, toothpaste and pet food. Nationwide checks on milk power are continuing and police have confiscated more than 200kg (440lb) of melamine.

Daniel Schearf and Jamila Trindle in Beijing are following this story.

A Greek ship with 25 crew members has been attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.   All crew members are still missing. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the ship was on its way to Kenya when it was hijacked. Pirates out of war-torn Somalia regularly attack vessels using the country’s commercial shipping routes.   The country has not had a functioning government since 1991. The pirates often dress in military attire and are carrying firearms. Many of them are trained fighters. The Greek ship is the 13th ship attacked off of the coast of Somalia in the past two months.   Noel Choong of the IMB told the Associated Press that the attack indicates that the Somali pirates are stretching out their area of target from the Gulf of Arden to the coast of Mogadishu. Choong said a multinational naval force has been informed of the attack. “We advise ships to stay at least 400 kilometres from the coast and even then, they must maintain a strict watch,” Choong said.  

Abdurahman Warsameh is Somalia and Louis Economopoulos in Greece are available for 2-ways.

Lloyds TSB Bank has disclosed details of its £12.2bn takeover of HBOS. Lloyd TSB described the deal as “a unique opportunity". The deal values shares in Halifax Bank of Scotland - the UK's biggest mortgage lender - at 232p each, and could lead to cost savings of £1bn a year. Lloyds confirmed that employees are to be made redundant lost as a result, but played down claims that the number of job losses is to be as high as 40,000. The UK Chancellor, Alistair Darling, said the government is to allow the deal arguing financial stability should prevail over competition fears. He added that without the deal the outlook was "very bleak indeed". Mr Darling denied, however, that the authorities had rushed through the deal. He told the BBC the government was dealing with HBOS's problem for several weeks. “It didn’t just happen,” he said. The buyout is effectively a rescue deal as HBOS shares have been sinking in recent days, raising concerns for the bank’s future. Lloyds said the new bank would continue to use HBOS's central offices in Scotland and would concentrate on keeping jobs there.

Christopher Walker in London s covering this story.

South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) is to nominate a caretaker president today to replace Thabo Mbeki, who formally resigned on Sunday.

Mr Mbeki resigned in a televised address at the request of the ANC, following an emergency cabinet meeting. During his speech he defended his position and denied any role in a corruption case against his rival, ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

Last week a high court judge suggested that Mr Mbeki might have interfered in a corruption case against Mr Zuma, who won leadership of the ANC last year after bitterly contested elections. Mr Mbeki says he will leave his post as soon as a new president is chosen.

The ANC has stressed that it want ministers loyal to him to remain in their posts in the interests of stability.

Gretchen Wilson and Sebastien Berger in Johannesburg are covering this story.

Chinese officials say 53,000 children have now been made ill from milk contaminated with the industrial chemical, melamine. Four children have died and about 13,000 - most of whom are under two - remain hospitalized.

Melamine is used in making plastics and is high in nitrogen. Health experts say ingesting small amounts does no harm, but sustained use can cause kidney stones and renal failure, especially among children.

New figures were announced by health officials earlier today who claimed the children were infected from milk powder from the Sanlu Group, the company where the contamination was first revealed two weeks ago.

At least 22 companies have become involved and milk products made by Yili, Mengniu and other groups have been recalled from supermarket shelves.

Jamila Trindle and Daniel Schearf in Beijing are following this story.

Many people are believed to be wounded or dead in a shooting incident at a school in western Finland, the country's national broadcaster reports.

YLE quotes police sources as saying the incident at the vocational school in Kauhajoki is ongoing. At least 200 people have been evacuated from the school.

Last November, a student killed eight people at a school in Tuusula.

Denisa Udroiu is reporting from Oslo.
 

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has confirmed that deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe, an ally of party leader Jacob Zuma, will takeover as caretaker president.

Mr Motlanthe will assume the presidency when Thabo Mbeki steps down on Thursday. Mr Mbeki is still challenging a Constitutional Court ruling that he meddled in Mr Zuma's corruption case - which led to the ANC recalling Mr Mbeki as president. Mr Mbeki says the judge's ruling was "unfair and unjust".

The ANC is urging for party unity and for cabinet ministers to remain in their posts following the resignation of deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a staunch supporter of Mr Mbeki.

Gretchen Wilson, Sebastien Berger, Bill Corcoran in Johannesburg and Terry Fitzpatrick in Cape Town are covering this story.

Investigators in Finland say they are studying a possible link between this week's shooting at a college and another one 12 months ago.

Investigators say that Matti Juhani Saari, who shot 10 people in Kauhajoki on Tuesday, possibly bought his gun from the same shop in Jokela as Pekka-Eric Auvinen, who last November shot eight people in Jokela. They could have also been in contact with each other.

"Their actions seem so similar that I would consider it a miracle if we did not find some connecting link," chief investigator Jari Neulaniemi was quoted as saying by Finland's STT news agency on Wednesday.

Both men posted threatening clips on YouTube before the attacks; both were fascinated by the 1999 Columbine school shooting in the US; both shot themselves in the head.

However, so far no direct link has been established. Finland's government is now considering tightening its gun laws - which are some of the most liberal in Europe.

Denisa Udroiu in Helsinki is following this story.

Pakistan has stepped up security at the international airport in the capital, Islamabad, following fears that it is the target of a suicide bomber.

Flights are continuing as normal, although some airport complexes have been closed. Intelligence reports suggest that more suicide bombs have been smuggled into the city in trucks or cars.

British Airways has already suspended its flights to Islamabad indefinitely following Saturday's bomb attack on the Marriot Hotel, in which over 50 people died.

Foreign companies and diplomatic missions in Pakistan are also conducting urgent security reviews.

Graham Usher, Saeed Shar and Nadeem Sarwar in Islamabad are available for 2-ways.

The Middle East Quartet has been accused of failure by several aid agencies and is being urged to increase the efforts of its mission to improve the daily lives of Palestinians.

The quartet, composed of Russia, the US, the EU and the UN, has 'failed to make progress on a number of fronts,' say the charities.

A report compiled by aid agencies, including Oxfam and Save the Children, said there was no change and even marked deterioration on several of the main objectives put in place by the Quartet to improve the lives of Palestinians.

The White House had wanted to bring together a peace deal between Israel and Palestine by the end of the year, but this is looking increasingly unlikely.

UN correspondent Julie Walker, Philip Sherwell in New York, Annette Young and Tim Butcher in Jerusalem are available for 2-ways.

At least five people have been killed in a suspected car bomb attack on a military bus carrying soldiers in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Witnesses said the blast happened on the outskirts of the city during morning rush hour. Some 30 people are believed to be wounded.

Lebanese officials said the blast was caused by the detonation of a car packed with explosives parked by the roadside. It appeared to be targeting a military bus that was passing through the area at the time. However, civilians are believed to be among the casualties.

The town of Tripoli has been hit by sectarian fighting in recent months. At least 14 people were killed in a similar attack on a bus in the city last month.

Several of the victims were off-duty soldiers. The attacks are threatening the reconciliation effort - including an attempted deal earlier this month - to end the fighting between pro-government Sunni fighters and pro-Syrian gunmen.

LA Times correspondent Borzou Daragahi, Anna Fifield and Hugh Macleod in Beirut are reporting on this story.

Ecuadorean voters have approved a constitution that increases presidential powers.

President Rafael Correa says the new constitution will help deal with instability and bring back a more just society in Ecuador.

Articles in the proposed constitution include plans to tighten control of industries such as oil and mining. There are also plans to give free healthcare to older citizens. Correa says he wants to give more control of the country to women, the poor and Ecuador's vast indigenous community. He wants to reduce the power of the land-owning elite which has always run the country.

The constitution allows Correa to run for two consecutive terms, which critics say may give him too much power. Foreign investors in Ecuador's oil industry are concerned that the new laws will reduce their profits and that the country won't pay off its foreign debts.

Exit polls released after the voting stopped indicated that from 66-70% supported the new constitution.

Guy Hedgecoe in Quito is available for 2-ways.

Top US negotiator Christopher Hill has arrived in North Korea to try and rescue a nuclear deal, weeks after Pyongyang began to reinstate its plutonium programme.

Mr Hill is expected to offer a compromise after the initial deal fell apart amid wrangling over how much verification the North had to give. North Korea handed over documentation of its nuclear programme in June this year, but Washington demanded further verification of the claims before removing it from its list of states sponsoring terrorism.

Pyongyang refused and has now made moves to start reactivating its nuclear plant, Yongbyon. The visit comes amid rumours that North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, is seriously ill, which could complicate negotiations.

Jason Strother and Evan Ramstad in Seoul are following the visit.

Spanish police have arrested 121 people in what they called the country's largest ever operation against internet child pornography.

Police carried out 210 nationwide raids and seized millions of photographs and video files and uncovered a network spanning 75 countries. A further 96 people were charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Brazilian police are understood to have assisted the operation.

Elizabeth Nash and Antonio Sampaio in Madrid are covering this story.