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Iraqi lawmakers are beginning the process of forming the country's next government as they meet Tuesday for the first time since being elected in late April.

China's state-controlled media are warning against "political confrontation" ahead of a mass pro-democracy rally set for Tuesday in Hong Kong.

British MEP Syed Kamall is the new head of the European Conservatives and Reformists, the Parliament's third largest political group.

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany plan to speak again Monday as deadlines are set to expire on both a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and for Russia to avoid new sanctions by the European Union.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with President Shimon Peres of Israel.

Suspected Islamist militants have attacked churches in several towns in northeastern Nigeria, leaving at least 24 people dead.

(From left) Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Gianni Pittella, acting president of the European Parliament ©The Council of the European Union

As Pakistani forces target Islamist militants in the volitile northwest, the government faces a huge challenge to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people displaced because of the military operation.

Two of the World Heritage mausoleums destroyed in Timbuktu have now been rebuilt through a partnership with local communities, the United Nations cultural agency said, adding that it will need an additional $8 million to finish the rehabilitation of the site and of libraries that could again store hundreds of thousands of Malian manuscripts.

This week the United States and Philippines launched military joint exercises in the South China Sea. With a newly signed military agreement between the treaty allies, the Philippines, which is locked in a dispute with China over territorial claims in the sea, is now heavily focused on beefing up its maritime capabilities.