The United Nations has signed an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo aimed at fighting against rape and sexual violence by armed groups in the strife-torn eastern part of the country.

The accord, seen by Agence France Presse on Tuesday, was signed by DR Congo's Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo and the U.N.'s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, during a visit by Bangura to the country.

Bangladesh police have arrested three atheist bloggers for allegedly defaming Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, police said Tuesday, amid calls from religious fundamentalists for an Internet crackdown.

The arrest of the three, who were paraded in handcuffs at a news conference, followed pressure from Islamists who have organised a march from all over the country to the capital to demand the death penalty for atheist bloggers.

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday passed the first-ever treaty regulating the global conventional weapons trade in an attempt to bring transparency and protection of human rights to the often murky industry.

Only Syria, North Korea and Iran -- which had blocked the treaty last week -- voted against. Russia, one of the world's most prolific exporters of conventional weapons, was among the 23 countries abstaining.

Pakistan's outgoing ruling party Tuesday called off a major public rally designed to kickstart its re-election campaign in favor of smaller events, officials said.

The Taliban have directly threatened the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and its secular coalition partners, and a string of recent attacks is raising fears that violence could mar the run-up to May 11 elections.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Tuesday said two working groups of experts he set up to try and find common ground for bickering political leaders who have failed to form a new government would take eight to 10 days to complete their task.

Elections in the eurozone's third largest economy more than a month ago resulted in a three-way split between Pier Luigi Bersani's center-left, Silvio Berlusconi's center-right and a new protest party led by former comedian Beppe Grillo.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday that the Korean peninsula crisis could spiral out of control, after North Korea announced it would restart a nuclear reactor to feed its atomic weapons program.

"Nuclear threats are not a game," Ban said, responding to a series of aggressive statements by Pyongyang that have prompted the deployment of nuclear-capable U.S. B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers and a U.S. destroyer to South Korea.

Indonesian police said Tuesday they had arrested a man suspected of being the bombmaker in a terror group accused of robbing a jewelery store to fund militant activities.

Fajar Sidik, 29, was detained on Thursday in Semarang city, central Java province, national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.

Over 5,000 people led by opposition leaders like boxing star Vitaly Klitschko took to the streets of Kiev Tuesday to protest against city authorities and demand mayoral elections.

The Ukrainian capital's previous mayor Leonid Chernovetsky, who bewildered Ukrainians with his bizarre antics and was accused of insanity by opponents, resigned last year.

Weekend attacks on three communities in volatile and ethnically divided central Nigeria have left 19 people dead and displaced some 4,500 others, a local official said on Tuesday.

"From the death toll we've compiled, 19 people including women and children were killed by gunmen we suspect to be Fulani herdsmen in attacks on three communities on Saturday night through Sunday," local government official Kumai Badu told Agence France Presse of the violence in the Kaura district, a remote area of Kaduna state.

At least 13 people were killed in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha when the sides of a quarry caved in, a local official said Tuesday.

"There are 13 dead but rescuers managed to save two people," said Mulongo Magessa, governor of Arusha province, of the accident that took place on Monday, days after a building collapse killed 36 people in the east African nation's commercial capital.