Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country is now capable of making the fuel plates and rods used inside nuclear reactors.

A US congresswoman has been shot in the head and six other people have been killed by a gunman in Arizona.

All arrangements have been completed for the south Sudan referendum that will start on Sunday, which is believed to lead to the division of the biggest African country.

Two people have been killed in riots linked to food price increases and unemployment in Algeria, officials say.

France said two of its nationals were found dead, apparently executed by their kidnappers, after French special forces joined a failed attempt to rescue them Saturday in the African state of Niger.

Fifteen bodies, all but one of them decapitated, were found early on Saturday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco as drug violence in Mexico intensified.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) says it wants to reopen talks with the Republic of Korea (RoK) - the latest in a series of conciliatory gestures.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday that Gene Sperling would take the position of National Economic Council (NEC) Director, the top White House economic adviser.

Turkey is to host Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul on January 20 and 21, the local daily Taday's Zaman reported on Saturday.

Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on January 7 agreed to make efforts to resume stalled negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, Kyodo news agency said.