The United States provide $195 million more in food and humanitarian aid to Syria to mark the end of Ramadan, Barack Obama said this week.

A meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Barack Obama has been cancelled after Russia decided to grant Edward Snowden asylum.

Obama will attend the G20 summit in St Petersburg but has cancelled a meeting with Putin, saying he was “disappointed” with Russia’s decision.

Russia has voiced its "disappointment" over the cancellation of bilateral talks with the US that were due to take place in September.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser said the move showed America's unwillingness to develop ties on an "equal basis", while a White House aide said that pre-existing tension between the two countries had been deepened by Russia's decision to grant asylum to intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

Five Indian soldiers have died in Kashmir after being attacked by unknown gunmen.

The Indian army has blamed Pakistan for the attack, but a Pakistani military official has told the BBC that "no fire took place" from their side.

International efforts to end the crisis in Egypt gained momentum as diplomats from the Gulf, the EU and the US met the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat el-Shater, today.

Fears of an al-Qaeda linked attack have placed Yemen's security forces on high alert, with tanks and tropps surrounding foreign missions, government offices and the airport in the capital city of Sanaa.

Both the US and the UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from Yemen and urged their citizens to leave.

Members of a tribe in north-east India have begun a 100-hour strike to demand the creation of a separate state in Assam.

The Dimasa tribe want to turn Dima Hasao into their homeland, following on from protests by the neighbouring Karbi tribes people who also demand a separate state.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern over a bill, proposed by the Thai government, which will grant amnesty to soldiers and officials responsible for deaths in the 2010 upheavals.

Several US embassies will remain closed over an extended period, after the state department issued a global travel alert warning of an al-Qaeda threat, which will stay in place until the end of August.

A spokesperson for the department said in a press statement:

The White House has offered Iran a “willing partnership” after the inauguration of the new president Hassan Rouhani.

Jay Carney, the White House spokesperson, said Rouhani's inauguration "presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear programme".

Supporters of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe have claimed to have been attacked after President Mugabe's election victory.

Zanu-PF supporters are alleged to have attacked members of the MDC, whose leader Morgan Tsvangirai is disputing the results of the election.

India's decision to create a new state of Telangana has sparked protests in the state of Andhra Pradesh.