A huge earthquake has brought death and destructino to the Indonesia island of Sumtara.
Footage from the town of Padang show how the 7.6 magnitude temblor flattened homes and hospitals leaving thousands of people trapped under the rubble.
Residents scrambled to put out fires caused by the quake while rsecue workers struggled to reach the coastal town after access roads were cut by a landslide.
Bernard Smith reports.
Israel has agreed to release 20 Palestinian women in exchange for a recently recorded videotape of a captured soldier.
The prisoner release and the handing-over of the videotape are set for Friday, according to reports.
Gilad Shalit has been held since 2006 when he was taken during a raid by Palestinian fighters on an Israeli army position close to the Gaza border.
Israel holds about 10,000 Palestinians, including dozens of womne.
Sherine Tadros reports from Gaza.
In Afghanistan, a powerful government minister has threatened to quit if a new security plan is not put in place.
Ismail Khan, the minister of energy, survived an assassinaiton attempt in the western province of Herat on Sunady.
Shortly after the bombing, Khan railed against the rise in violence in Afghanistan, saying Afghans should be in charge of their own security, not the interantional community.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports.
The eyes of the Arab world and beyond are focused on debaet at the UN Human Rights Council and whether it will agree that alleged war crimes in Gaza warrant criminal action.
Richard Goldstone, a South African judge, led an investigation into the war on Gaza, whihc left more than 1,400 Paletsinians dead, and his report said that there was clear evidence that crimes had been committed by both sides.
Israel has dismissed the findings as politically motivated, but many commentators have warned that the credibility of the UN body rests on its willingness to act.
Palsetininas, however, simply hope that any measures tkaen by the council will prove to be the first step towards getting justice for the Gaazns who suffered during the conflict.
Sherine Tadros reports from Gaza City.