The annual UN General Assembly was preceded by a one-day climate change summit, the largest-ever gathering of world leaders on the subject. China pledged to improve its energy efficiency and curb the rise in CO2 emissions, but gave no figures for reductions. Japan pledged to reduce emissions by 25% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has warned that there is not enough time to agree targets for all major greenhouse-gas producers before the Copenhagen summit.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu met at the Assembly for the first time since Netanyahu's re-election. The only sign of progress in their talks with Barack Obama was a handshake.

The leaked report by Stanley McChrystal, US commander in Afghanistan, said that the war could be lost within 12 months and called for more US troops. McChrystal criticised current operations of Nato troops and recommended a shift in emphasis to protecting the Afghan population rather than focusing wholly on capturing insurgents. Obama has said that he is in no hurry to increase the size of the coalition force.

Manuel Zelaya, ousted president of Honduras, returned to the country, seeking refuge inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. The de facto government placed a curfew, but protests in support of Zelaya still took place. The interim leader, Roberto Micheletti, now says he is willing to talk.

A refugee camp near Calais has been cleared by French police. Adults were taken into police custody and minors taken to special centres. France says all will be offered the chance to apply for asylum or voluntary assisted repatriation. Makeshift camps sprang up in the area after a Red Cross centre was closed in 2002.

Germany will hold federal elections on 27 September. The ruling coalition between Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats is likely to be broken. Merkel hopes to form a coalition with the liberal Free Democratic Party.

After 40 years' rule,Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, right, attended the UN General Assembly for the first time.

King Bhumibol,Thailand's 81-year-old ruler, was hospitalised with a fever and fatigue. Widely seen as a unifying force in Thai politics, the king's health is a matter of great public concern.

Bhutan and neighbouring regions were hit by an earthquake of magnitude 6.1. Eleven people were killed and hundreds were forced to flee. Tremors were felt as far away as Bangladesh and Tibet.

Fighting in Yemen continued over Eid despite a ceasefire announced to coincide with the end of Ramadan, after the UN appealed for access to deliver humanitarian aid to 150,000 displaced civilians. It is the second ceasefire to fail in the country in the past two weeks.

Political prisoners in Burma have more than doubled in number since 2007, including more than a hundred imprisoned in recent months, Human Rights Watch reports.

Beijing is preparing to mark 60 years of Communist rule on 1 October, with a grand military parade through Tiananmen Square and a speech from Hu Jintao. Armed police and a million volunteers are taking part in a mass security operation, similar to the one employed during last year's Olympics.

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