Less than a week after Irene ravaged much of the East Coast, Hurricane Katia roared to life in the central Atlantic with winds of 75 mph, forecasters said.

A key summit on Libya, hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UK PM David Cameron, began in Paris.

US President Barack Obama on August 31 called on Congress to extend transportation bills about to expire next month in a bid to create badly needed jobs for the economy.

A triple suicide bomb attack has killed six police officers and two other people in the Chechen capital Grozny where Muslims are celebrating Eid.

Fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son has promised victory for Gaddafi loyalists faced with an ultimatum to surrender.

A man claiming to be the top legal official in the central Syrian city of Hama has announced that he has resigned in protest at the crimes against humanity committed by security forces.

Libya's interim leadership has rejected the idea of deploying any kind of international military force, the UN envoy to the country has said.

At least ten people were killed and 25 others were wounded when a suicide blast hit a parking lot of a mosque in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta on the morning of August 31, reported local Urdu TV channel ARY.

A total of seven people were killed and 18 others injured in two explosions in Russia's Chechnya on the evening of August 30, said Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on August 31.

Libya's interim leaders have given pro-Gaddafi forces until September 3 to surrender or face military force.