Venezuelans will vote April 14 to choose a successor to Hugo Chavez, the elections commission announced as increasingly strident political rhetoric begins to roil this polarized country.

President Barack Obama is playing down expectations for a Mideast peace breakthrough during his upcoming trip to Israel, telling American Jewish leaders that he won't be carrying a "grand peace plan" when he arrives in the region later this month.

Australia has decided to scrap North Korea's plan to reopen an embassy in Canberra.

The number of Syrians who have fled their country since a deadly civil conflict erupted two years ago has hit one million, the UN's refugee agency said on Wednesday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the British government of wanting to arm "terrorists" in his country, in a rare interview with a UK newspaper.

A series of bombings struck Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 22 and wounding dozens in areas that are home to mostly Muslim Shiites, the latest evidence of rising sectarian discord in Iraq.

A suicide car bomb blew up at an army checkpoint in northeastern Damascus, leaving five soldiers killed, a watchdog said, as rebels pressed toward the centre of the capital.

The United Nations has called for an independent inquiry into the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody, warning that mounting tensions risk an eruption of violence in the occupied territories.

A spate of car bombings in Damascus killed at least 83 people, including more than 60 in an attack near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party, a watchdog said.

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has announced the first post-constitution parliamentary elections to be held from April in an attempt to douse anti-government protests, but the opposition warned that the polls amidst severe societal polarization would be a "recipe for disaster".