Aid groups raise fresh S. Sudan famine warning

Famine will break out in war-torn South Sudan within weeks unless massive funding for food aid is provided, aid agencies warned on Thursday.

Malaysian returning to NZ to face sex charge

A Malaysian military official who is being sent back to New Zealand to face sexual assault and burglary charges will no longer be protected by diplomatic immunity, New Zealand officials confirmed on Thursday.

Japanese city launches legal bid to halt reactor project

A Japanese city was on Thursday asking a court for an injunction to prevent a nuclear plant being built, in a country that remains deeply suspicious of the technology three years after Fukushima.

Iraqi Kurds seek independence

Vote to be held 'within months', president of northern region says

Russia, Ukraine agree to 3-way talks with rebels

The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine agreed in Berlin on Wednesday to hold three-way talks involving separatist rebels by Saturday to pave the way for a new cease-fire, despite continued fighting and a rising death toll in eastern regions.

Murder raises tension in West Bank

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israeli extremists for the abduction and murder of an Arab teenager on Wednesday, sparking hours of clashes in east Jerusalem and drawing charges that the youth was murdered to avenge the killings of three kidnapped Israeli teens.

Filipinos urged to delay hajj over MERS

Philippine health authorities urged Muslim Filipinos on Thursday to postpone their annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia due to worries about an often deadly respiratory virus.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Graft charges cloud future for Sarkozy

Probe could wreck former French leader's hopes of a political comeback

Revenge suspected in killing of abducted Palestinian teen

A Palestinian teenager was kidnapped and killed on Wednesday in an apparent act of revenge for the murder of three Israeli youths, triggering clashes in east Jerusalem.

W. Africa in crisis talks as virus spreads

Health ministers from across Western Africa were scheduled to meet on Wednesday to plan "drastic action" against the deadliest ever Ebola epidemic as dozens of new cases continue to emerge.

Iraqi Parliament at impasse over forming new government

Iraq's new Parliament deadlocked less than two hours into its first session on Tuesday when minority Sunnis and Kurds walked out, dashing hopes for the quick formation of a new government that could hold the country together in the face of a Sunni Islamist insurgency.