An Iranian appeals court upholds a five-year prison sentence handed down to an ex-member of the country's nuclear negotiation team for espionage.

Mobs have rampaged across a north Indian state, leaving 32 people dead and more than 250 others injured, after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan has resigned following a Supreme Court ruling that disqualified him from office over corruption charges.

An analyst says the verdict against Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim is a mockery of justice and yet another criminal act by the dictatorial regime in Bahrain.

When the verdict was read, supporters jumped up and cheered. The defendants sang as they left the courthouse.