National Liberation Army rebels in Colombia demand to see evidence that two elderly Germans they are holding are not intelligence agents.

The Pentagon will extend some family benefits to same-sex partners of US military members, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says.

Two people are killed in clashes in Yemen during rallies marking the 2011 uprising that led to the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Pope Benedict XVI will not interfere in choosing his successor after his shock decision to resign at the end of this month, the pontiff's brother says.

Uganda deports a UK theatre producer who ran into trouble over a play about the condition of gay people, a UK embassy spokesman tells the BBC.

The chief executive of Italian aerospace and defence firm Finmeccanica has been arrested on corruption charges.

The government of Mali is "hesitant" over the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force, a senior UN official says.

A carnival float catches fire in the Brazilian city of Santos, killing four people and injuring several others.