The Taliban in Afghanistan say they have obtained a government security plan for this week's grand assembly of leaders in Kabul.

A Mexican musician who sang songs celebrating the lives of drug barons is shot dead in western Sinaloa state.

Police in riot gear move in on Occupy Wall Street protesters in Portland, Oregon, responding to a deadline from the city's mayor.

Three French aid workers, kidnapped in Yemen in May, have been released by their captors, the French authorities say.

A Russian spacecraft carrying three astronauts to the ISS is due to launch shortly, after a crash in August delayed manned space travel.

The Japanese economy rebounds in the third quarter, growing for the first time since a devastating earthquake in March.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay calls for an investigation into the bombing of a refugee camp in South Sudan, allegedly by Sudan.

A stricken cargo ship that was threatening a huge environmental disaster has been emptied of oil, say the authorities in New Zealand.