International

One person has died and more are feared dead, after a dam holding back water from an iron ore mine burst near Mariana, Brazil. Rivers of thick red mud surged down the valleys of the hilly area outside the old colonial city, engulfing cars…

(BBC) A powerful storm formed a spectacular "tsunami" cloud off Bondi Beach in Sydney on Friday. Crowds who had gathered at Bondi's annual Sculpture by the Sea festival watched as the massive shelf cloud drew near the coast. Heavy…

(BBC) A narrow ruling by Mexico's Supreme Court could eventually clear a path to make recreational use of marijuana legal. Four people in the Mexican Society for Responsible and Tolerant Personal Use will now be permitted to grow and smoke…

(BBC) A dam holding back water from an iron ore mine near Mariana, Brazil, has burst. Officials say one person is confirmed dead, but there are reports that up to 16 have died and others are missing. Authorities have warned that the water…

ROC President Ma Ying-jeou outlined the background, objectives, and important characteristics of his upcoming meeting with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an international news conference Nov. 5. Such a meeting has continually been…

(BBC) Two districts of Japan's capital Tokyo have started issuing certificates recognising same-sex partnerships. They are designed to encourage landlords and hospitals to treat gay couples the same way as married ones. However, the…

(BBC) Many patients who overcame Ebola following the 2014 outbreak are now facing physical and mental health problems, according to survivors groups in Sierra Leone. More than 28,000 cases of Ebola have been reported since the first…

(BBC) Tourists and travellers in Indonesia have been stranded for a third day, as volcanic ash has forced the closure of airports on three islands. Bali's Denpasar airport has been shut since Tuesday after Mount Rinjani on Lombok island…

(BBC) A cargo plane has crashed on take-off near the international airport in South Sudan's capital Juba, killing at least 36 people. South Sudan's transport minister says two people were found alive, but one of them later died. Earlier an…

(BBC) Forensic experts have been sent to the Mexican town of Carrizalillo to examine human remains found in a number of mass graves. The location was disclosed by a member of a drugs gang who was attacked by residents of Carrizalillo. The…

(Mail Online) A young woman has been stoned to death in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan after eloping with a man. A 30-second video shows the woman, known only as Rokhsahana and believed to be aged between 19 and 21, lying in a…

(Aljazeera) Nigeria, Africa - Shell oil company accused of making false claims about extent of clean-up operations and urged to do more for those effected. Shell has been accused of making false claims about the extent of its oil spill…

(BBC) The US has said it plans to return to contested areas of the South China Sea, with a top military commander saying it has conducted similar operations worldwide "for decades". The sailing of a US warship within an area claimed by…

Russian and Egyptian investigators are working to establish why a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula and killed all 224 people on board, including 17 children. The plane crashed 23 minutes into its flight from Sharm el-Sheikh…

China has scrapped its one-child policy, allowing all couples to have two children for the first time since draconian family planning rules were introduced more than three decades ago. The announcement followed a four-day Communist party…