An Arab League committee on Syria will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday ahead of an international peace conference on ending the country's civil war, the bloc's deputy leader said on Sunday. The foreign ministers of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and Sudan would discuss a US-Russian push for a conference aimed at finding a political solution to the Syria conflict, Ahmed Ben-Hilli told reporters. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would also join the meeting "to follow up on developments in Syria in light of the US-Russian understanding," he said.

Manchester City defender Gael Clichy signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League club on Sunday. Clichy has been one of the few solid performers for City during a troubled campaign that will end with the club trophyless and managerless. The France left-back's reward is an improved deal which will keep him at Eastlands until 2017. "I'm really happy to have agreed a new deal with City and I'm already looking forward to next season," Clichy told City's website.

The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said Sunday that Pakistan and China will sign several memorandums of understanding during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Pakistan, starting Wednesday. Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said as many as 12 MOUs will be signed, including three linked to the development of the strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which China has been managing since February.

A possible solution to the increasing amount of contaminated water inside the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could be to pump groundwater into the sea before it gets into the reactor buildings, as planned by the plant operator, the head of international inspectors has said.