World - AFP

SEOUL (AFP) - A North Korean patrol boat was set ablaze after exchanging fire with South Korea's navy on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, as cross-border tensions rose a week before a scheduled US presidential visit. Full Story »

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia to start work as a government economic adviser Tuesday, fuelling tensions after deadly clashes between the two countries. Full Story »

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Tuesday defended its handling of the executions of nine people over deadly ethnic unrest in its far-western Xinjiang region in July, saying the cases were dealt with "according to law". Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House denied President Barack Obama had come to a decision on sending US reinforcements to Afghanistan amid mounting speculation he had made up his mind on a troop buildup. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Washington sniper John Allen Muhammad, who killed 10 people in a 2002 shooting spree around the US capital, was due to be put to death Tuesday after the nation's top court denied a stay of execution. Full Story »

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said on Tuesday that three arrested American hikers committed the crime of entering the country illegally, even as they are also reported to be facing other possible charges. Full Story »

TOKYO (AFP) - US President Barack Obama is willing to visit the nuclear-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in office but won't go there during a Japan trip this week, he said in an NHK TV interview Tuesday. Full Story »

TAWANG, India (AFP) - The Dalai Lama on Tuesday held a second mass prayer meeting close to India's border with Tibet, as China took a fresh swipe at his week-long tour of the Arunachal Pradesh region. Full Story »

FORT HOOD, Texas (AFP) - President Barack Obama and investigators pledged to learn the motive behind last week's mass shooting at a US military base now its chief suspect has awakened in hospital and was able to talk. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US efforts to revive the Middle East process floundered Tuesday with no progress reported after closed door talks between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Full Story »