A Texas actress pleads guilty to sending ricing-laced letters in the post to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

US Secretary of State John Kerry defends the six-month nuclear deal with Iran before a sceptical panel of congressmen.

An agreement is reached on the US budget to avoid another government shutdown, Republican and Democratic lawmakers say.

Thousands of police have moved on a large protest camp near Independence Square in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

President Francois Hollande defends France's military intervention in the Central African Republic, after two French soldiers were killed in Bangui.

Parliament in Uruguay votes in favour of legalising the cultivation, consumption and distribution of marijuana - the first country to do so.

The body of Nelson Mandela is being taken in procession to the Union Buildings in Pretoria where it will lie in state for three days.

The supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the United States is far larger than was previously thought, scientists report.