The United Nations formally rejects compensation claims by victims of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed almost 8,000 people.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives in the US for talks with President Obama to fortify a key security alliance between the two nations.

A major winter storm in the US Midwest that is already blamed for two deaths blankets several states in up to 17in (43cm) of snow.

A Royal penguin stranded on a New Zealand beach 2,000 km from its Antarctic home has died, zoo officials say.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering breathing problems following his return from Cuba where he was treated for cancer, officials say.

A judge is expected to rule whether South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend, can be released on bail.

India's Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde visits the sites of the two explosions in Hyderabad which he says killed 14 people and injured 119.

Two Mexican policemen are charged with rape and abuse of authority after allegedly attacking an Italian woman in the resort of Playa del Carmen.