The Philippines government says 1,079 people are still missing in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Washi.

More than 1,000 others are known to have died in the storm, which struck Mindanao island on Saturday.

Syrian state television says several people have been killed in two suicide car bombings outside security service facilities in the capital, Damascus.

The TV said civilians were among the dead after suspected al-Qaeda militants targeted bases of the General Security Directorate and another agency.

Kim Jong-il's third son, Kim Jong-un, is the clearly anointed and intended successor of the North Korean leadership.

He was unveiled as heir at a Workers' Party conference in September 2010, where he was made a four-star general and vice-chair of the Party's Central Military Commission.

Monitors from the Arab League are due to arrive in Syria under an initiative aimed at ending the violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

The UN says some 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since protests began in March but right groups say the figure is much higher.

A wave of apparently co-ordinated bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 63 people and injured around 185, say officials.

The interior ministry told the BBC 14 locations had been attacked, including al-Amil in the south and Halawi and Karrada closer to the centre.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has warned that "provocateurs and extremists" will not be allowed to create divisions in society.

He also proposed "comprehensive" political reforms, including direct elections of regional governors.

Chinese state media has welcomed the apparent resolution of a high-profile stand-off over land seizures between villagers and local officials in Wukan.

The People's Daily praised provincial officials for negotiating with local people to resolve the row.

South Korea says it is trying to show no hostility towards Pyongyang, calling a return to stability in the communist state in the interests of the region.

President Lee Myung-bak made the comments in a meeting with top lawmakers, Yonhap news agency said.

Co-ordinated bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have killed at least 40 people and injured more than 130, say officials.

The interior ministry said 13 locations had been attacked, including al-Amil in the south of the city and Halawi and Karrada closer to the centre.

Thousands of people have accompanied the coffin of late Czech leader Vaclav Havel en route to Prague Castle where he will lie in state.

The procession marks the start of three official days of mourning for Havel who died on Sunday aged 75.

Bahrain police have released Zainab al-Khawaja, a blogger and human rights activist, after five days in custody.

Ms Khawaja, the daughter of a jailed opposition leader, was arrested on Thursday during an anti-government demonstration.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called on the autonomous Kurdish region to hand over Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Hashemi on Monday over terror charges.

More than five million North Koreans have so far turned out to pay their respects to late leader Kim Jong-il, state media say.

The body of Mr Kim is lying in state in the capital Pyongyang as organised public mourning continues in streets and halls around the country.

Almost 200 people have died in two days of clashes in Syria, activists say, as the violence there intensifies.

Two activist groups put Tuesday's toll at 84 - the majority in Idlib province in the north-west.

Iraqi authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the mainly Shia country's Sunni vice-president, leading to fears of the government's collapse and an increase in sectarian tensions.

The warrant for Tariq al-Hashemi was issued under anti-terrorism laws, interior ministry officials said.

Mourners in North Korea have been paying their last respects at the open coffin of late leader Kim Jong-il.

State TV showed pictures of his son and heir, Kim Jong-un, and other senior officials at a memorial palace.

The US has called on North Korea to pursue a "path of peace" following the death of leader Kim Jong-il.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was ready to help the North Korean people and create lasting security on the Korean peninsula.

More on Syria signing the Arab League deal. Walid al Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister, said the agreement was signed "a while ago" in Cairo after the Arab

League accepted amendments to the deal demanded by Syria.

A spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said Monday that rescue workers have pulled out seven bodies, while 46 men remain missing. Fourteen people

were plucked alive from the icy waters immediately after the accident.

Protesters have been stoning security forces in Cairo on the third day of unrest in the Egyptian capital over the military government.

Ten people are now known to have been killed and hundreds injured since the trouble began on Friday.