Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his predicted victory in upper house elections will help him form a stable cabinet, ending political volatility.

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva backs the centre-right coalition government, ruling out snap elections to resolve a crisis over a bailout deal.

Deforestation in one of the world's largest rainforests, the Congo Basin in Africa, has slowed, a study suggests.

Pope Francis is to fly to Brazil for his first foreign trip, where millions of young Catholics are expected to greet him at a festival amid high security.

The US city of Detroit enters a legal battle as a judge rules the federal petition for its bankruptcy violated state laws and constitution.

EU foreign ministers are due to discuss calls to list the military wing of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

A powerful earthquake hits China's north-west Gansu province, killing at least 47 people and seriously injuring more than 200, reports say.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defends Australia's new policy of sending asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea, saying it targets "merchants in death".