Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro are searching for more than 20 prisoners who escaped from a jail through its sewage system.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou confirms that French special forces are protecting one of the country's biggest uranium mines.

Fidel Castro votes in Cuba's parliamentary elections, the first time the ageing ex-leader has been seen in public for several months.

Nigeria's military says it has killed 17 insurgents in helicopter-backed raids on two training camps belonging to the Boko Haram Islamist group.

The body of Cambodia's former monarch, King Norodom Sihanouk, is to be cremated in Phnom Penh, three months after he died in Beijing.

Jacoby Jones lights up the Superdome as Baltimore edge out San Francisco, and survive a power cut, in an epic Super Bowl.

India's president approves harsher punishment for rapists, including the death penalty, after the gang rape of a student sparked demands for tougher laws.

South Korea begins three days of joint naval exercises with the US, in a show of strength as the North threatens to carry out a nuclear test.