PAKISTAN

A suicide bomber killed three people outside a popular media club on Tuesday in Peshawar, officials said, a key northwestern Pakistan town that has become the epicentre of Islamabad's battle against militants.

Following is the view from Reuters Asia editors on the news that is likely to matter most this week:

A suicide bomber killed up to 10 people in Pakistan Friday, while a suspected U.S. drone killed six militants, as rising political tension threatened to distract the government from its war against the Taliban.

U.N. peacekeepers' vessels and Lebanese navy boats searched on Friday for more survivors from a cargo ship carrying more than 80 people and livestock that sank in the Mediterranean off Lebanon.

A suicide bomber killed up to 10 people in Pakistan on Friday, while a suspected U.S. drone killed six militants, as rising political tension threatened to distract the government from its war against the Taliban.

The euro stabilized on Friday after this week's steep losses against the dollar and yen and rose off nine-month lows versus the Swiss franc while higher oil prices helped European stocks higher in thin year-end trade.

The euro clawed back some of its recent steep losses against the dollar and yen on Friday and rose off nine-month lows versus the Swiss franc while higher oil prices pushed European stocks higher in thin year-end trade.

The euro recovered from early losses on Friday after Pakistan dismissed rumors of a coup while Asian stocks fell as investors fretted about the outlook for corporate earnings.

Asian stocks dipped on Friday as investors fretted about earnings, while the euro recovered from early losses after Pakistan dismissed rumors of a coup.

Thai investigators said Tuesday they have found mass weapons including rocket-propelled grenades, components for surface-to-air missiles and other armaments seized from a plane setting off via North Korea.

A new vaccine against polio, being used for the first time on children in Afghanistan this week, will be critical in the drive to eradicate the crippling virus, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

A car bomb near the home of a Pakistani provincial government minister killed 20 people on Tuesday, a police official said, in another sign authorities are struggling against Taliban militants bent on grabbing power.

Power company AES Corp on Sunday said it agreed to sell its entire interests in its Oman and Pakistan businesses for about $200 million.

Gurinder Chadha, the director behind the hit Bend it Like Beckham, is one of a trio of Indian-origin women directors wowing the world with their unique style. But unlike Deepa Mehta or Mira Nair, Chadha makes films with a distinctly earthy feel.

Twenty-five NATO allies promised on Friday to send 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan, backing President Barack Obama's new war strategy and stepping up international efforts to defeat the Taliban.

U.S. lawmakers told President Barack Obama's top advisers on Thursday not enough was being done to combat corruption in Afghanistan, singling out allegations against the Afghan president's brother, whom Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged was a problem.

A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people including three Somali government ministers on Thursday at a graduation ceremony in a Mogadishu hotel, witnesses and officials said.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday evening that his administration plans to send 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan.

Following is the prepared text of President Obama's address on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, as released by the White House on Tuesday:

President Barack Obama will unveil his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan in a prime-time televised speech on Tuesday. But in the hours beforehand, officials offered a preview of what he will tell Americans, who are sharply divided over the war.

A teenage suicide bomber killed an anti-Taliban provincial lawmaker in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday after walking into the official's house along with guests and blowing himself up.