Many in Pakistan are still furious about last month's Nato air strikes close to the Afghan border, which killed at least 24 members of its security forces. For Nato, the overland route through Pakistan is a key part of supporting operations in Afghanistan. Now Pakistan's defence officials have introduced a new factor: cost. They say that until now the transit permission has been verbal and informal, but it may be time, they say, to negotiate a formal agreement.
A Russian billionaire, Mikhail Prokhorov, says he'll challenge the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the presidential election in March. Mr Prokhorov said the
unprecedented
anti-government protests that have been held in recent days were a sign that Russian people were becoming more alert.
"Society is waking up. And no matter whether we want it or not, those authorities who fail to establish a dialogue with society, I think they will soon have to go. Therefore, a serious change is happening in the world, and a new sort of person is emerging, I would say,
due to
the development of the Internet, and communications between the authorities and society are becoming closer."
Mr Prokhorov said he was targeting Russia's growing middle class. The BBC Moscow correspondent says there's deep mistrust of the super-rich in Russia, so it's unclear how much support he'll have.
World News from the BBC
Member states of the International Criminal Court have chosen a Gambian lawyer, Fatou Bensouda, as its new chief prosecutor. She was elected by