Last-ditch effort to save coalition in Pakistan.(News)

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani yesterday called for a "last minute effort" to save his six-week-old coalition government, after refusing to accept the resignations of ministers from the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Lebanese army expanded its troop deployment to several tense areas around the country yesterday, hours after it said soldiers will use force if needed to impose order after almost a week of clashes between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition.

International and Afghan troops forged ahead with an offensive against the Taliban near the Pakistan border yesterday, with a governor insisting 150 rebels had been killed in the past week.

The Pentagon has dropped charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged "20th hijacker" in the September 11 attacks on the United States, a Pentagon spokesperson said yesterday.

The Islamist Hamas movement insisted yesterday that it would not agree to the release of a captive Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, as part of a proposed Gaza truce, despite Israeli demands to the contrary.

Jordan's criminal court has convicted and sentenced a 23-year-old student to 10 years in jail for shooting and stabbing his sister to death to restore the family's honour. The court says the defendant testified that he stabbed his sister 14 times and shot her repeatedly in October after her ex-husband complained that she had had affairs. The court initially sentenced him to death.

Last-ditch effort to save coalition in Pakistan.(News)

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani yesterday called for a "last minute effort" to save his six-week-old coalition government, after refusing to accept the resignations of ministers from the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Lebanese army expanded its troop deployment to several tense areas around the country yesterday, hours after it said soldiers will use force if needed to impose order after almost a week of clashes between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition.

International and Afghan troops forged ahead with an offensive against the Taliban near the Pakistan border yesterday, with a governor insisting 150 …