Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton called on June 4 for changes to election laws to make it easier to vote, and condemned several Republican rivals for backing efforts that she said keep poor, young and minority voters from the polls.

Yemen's dominant Houthis agreed on June 4 to join United Nations-backed peace talks in Geneva planned for June 14, a day after their opponents in the exiled government confirmed their attendance.

The death toll from a Chinese cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River has climbed to 82, state media said on June 5, as authorities righted the battered vessel and said there was no chance of finding anyone else alive.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) risks a long battle with MERS unless it is transparent, works with international virus-hunters and avoids mistakes made by Saudi Arabia, where the killer disease took hold after emerging in 2012.

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on June 3 fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine's defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted.

The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s President Park Geun-hye said on June 3 everything must be done to stop Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) as fear of the disease shut hundreds of schools and led to corporate giant Samsung calling off a staff conference.

Western and Arab states carrying out air strikes on Islamic State fighters backed on June 2 Iraq's plan to retake territory from the jihadist movement after being accused by the Iraqi premier of not doing enough to help Baghdad push back the insurgents.

President Barack Obama signed into law on June 2 legislation passed by Congress earlier in the day reforming a government surveillance program that swept up millions of Americans' telephone records.

Efforts to coax Yemen's warring factions into talks have made some progress, officials said on June 1, as warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition mounted more air strikes on the country's dominant Houthi militia.

A passenger ship carrying 458 people, many elderly Chinese tourists, sank in the Yangtze River in a storm late on June 1 and only about 20 had been rescued so far, state media said, in what could be one of China's worst disasters for years.