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KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament on Thursday formed a new coalition and proposed former finance minister Mykola Azarov, a close ally of President Viktor Yanukovich, as prime minister.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek public and private sector workers went on strike on Thursday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in a fortnight in protest against austerity plans.

PATTANI, Thailand (Reuters) - Unknown assailants shot dead three people and burned their bodies in Thailand's predominantly Muslim deep south, police said Thursday.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - More than 90 Australian authors signed a letter on Thursday decrying China's refusal to grant a visa to one of the country's most celebrated writers because he was HIV-positive, a move that Beijing defended.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera takes office as Chile's new president on Thursday, tasked with rebuilding the country after one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded killed hundreds of people less than two weeks ago.

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government has allowed the party of detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to reopen regional branch offices that have been closed since May 2003, a party spokesman said on Thursday.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden publicly scolded Israel on Wednesday over a Jewish settlement plan, saying it was undermining peace efforts after Palestinians agreed to U.S.-mediated talks.

TUBUL, Chile (Reuters) - Undeterred by terrifying memories of a roaring tsunami that nearly killed him, Chilean fisherman Herne Pezo hammers away at his tiny boat, yearning to return to sea as soon as it's fixed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drug abuse is a big problem in Afghanistan's police force, with four of every 10 recruits testing positive for illicit substances in some areas, said a report by the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Wednesday his country was working to get its fiscal house in order and wanted markets to recognize that.

MADRID (Reuters) - One of three Spanish aid workers kidnapped by a group believed to be al Qaeda's wing in North Africa arrived back in Spain Wednesday after she was released in Mali.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian parliamentarians tucked into a meal of seal meat on Wednesday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish cartoonist whose sketch of the Prophet Mohammad has made him the target of Muslim anger said on Wednesday he had received more death threats since arrests were made this week over an alleged plot to kill him.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and U.N. officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich pushed on Wednesday for a new ruling coalition within the week to avoid snap elections and tackle a deep economic crisis.

JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Sporadic shooting rang out overnight in the central Nigerian city of Jos and witnesses said at least one person was killed by soldiers enforcing a curfew days after attacks on three nearby Christian villages.

KABUL (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded barbs on Wednesday during briefly overlapping visits to Afghanistan, where Washington has troops at war but Tehran has growing clout.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Egyptian religious leader Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the head of al Azhar, has died on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday, quoting its correspondent. Al-Azhar, one of the most prominent seats of Sunni Islamic learning in the Muslim world, has schools, universities and other educational institutions across Egypt.

DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, voiced his support on Wednesday for an ethnic minority in China's troubled Xinjiang province, risking further worsening his fraught relations with Beijing.