Best of BBC news

At least 16 people, including several security force members, are killed in shootings and explosions in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say.

The Saudi Arabian monarch, King Abdullah, is in Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of a visit by both leaders to Lebanon.

The Arab League backs direct Palestinian peace talks with the Israelis, but leaves the timing to the Palestinians, officials say.

Officials investigate damage to a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, amid reports of a collision or an attack.

Hosni Mubarak's busy schedule may dispel health rumours

How will sanctions on Iran affect ordinary people?

Environmental group WWF apologises to Saudi Arabia after one of its workers vandalised the country's nameplate at a climate conference.

Mannequins and pictures of underwear models will be removed from women's clothes shops under new rules announced by Hamas.

Iran's military feels the squeeze from sanctions

The government in Nepal lifts a ban that prohibited Nepalis from seeking work in Iraq.

A Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz is damaged by what has been reported as a freak wave, injuring crew members.

Rights group Amnesty International accuses Iran of persecuting a lawyer involved in the high profile case of a woman sentenced to death by stoning.

A sandstorm downs an Iraqi military helicopter, killing its five-member crew, while a Baghdad blast kills five Iraqis, officials say.

Key facts, figures and dates

The UN's former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix tells the official war inquiry it is his "firm view" that the Iraq invasion was illegal.

A US federal watchdog harshly criticises the US military for failing to account properly for almost $9bn (£5.8bn) of reconstruction funds for Iraq.

Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel's Negev desert are made homeless after police raid their village and raze their homes.

Key facts, figures and dates

A cargo plane has crashed on arrival at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Key facts, figures and dates