Lawyers defending a US soldier accused of handing government secrets to Wikileaks say his supervisors failed to recognise his troubled emotional state.

Tributes have been flooding in from around the world following the death of the Czech Republic's first President, Vaclav Havel.

North Korean television announces the death of Kim Jong-il, who had led the communist nation since the death of his father in 1994.

Australia sends rescue vessels to help search for scores of people believed missing after a boat carrying asylum-seekers sank off Indonesia.

One of the leaders of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram is arrested after a shoot-out in the northern city of Kano, police say.

DR Congo opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi calls on the security forces to stop obeying orders from President Joseph Kabila, as he declares himself president again.

An explosion near the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya, close to the Somali border, kills at least one policeman, police say.

Former Italy midfielder Cristiano Doni is arrested by Italian police in a match-fixing investigation.