Fierce fighting breaks out in the Syrian town of Kobane, ending two days of relative calm after defenders pushed back Islamic State militants.

Former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, credited with transforming Australian society in the 1970s, has died at the age of 98.

Vital supplies to tackle Ebola are beginning to arrive in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - the worst-hit countries, Ghana's president says.

Celebrated Swiss photographer Rene Burri who took pictures of the likes of Che Guevara and Pablo Picasso for the Magnum agency dies aged 81.

Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of French oil company Total since 2007, has died when his plane crashed during take-off in Moscow.

A man who struck two Canadian soldiers with his car before he was shot dead by police had been "radicalised", Canada's PM says.

A child is killed by violence every five minutes in the world, a leading charity says, calling for new targets to end all forms of child abuse by 2030.

Oscar Pistorius' siblings describe their heartache and criticise media coverage of his trial, on the eve of the South African athlete's sentencing.