Barack Obama has said he will not be taking part in the ice bucket challenge, a fundraising stunt which involves people drenching themselves with cold water.

The World Health Organization says the speed and extent of the Ebola outbreak is "unprecedented", as it confirms more deaths from the disease.

A Chinese fighter came perilously close to a US military patrol plane over international waters east of China's Hainan Island, the Pentagon says.

Members of Colombia's armed forces meet Farc rebel leaders for the first time at Havana peace talks, to discuss ways of implementing a ceasefire.

The National Guard withdraws from Ferguson, Missouri, where the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman sparked days of protests.

Rescuers search desperately for survivors in Japan's Hiroshima prefecture where a landslide killed at least 42 people, with 43 still missing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to arrive in Ukraine, after calling Russia's decision to send an unauthorised aid convoy an "escalation".

The next part of the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 will be very challenging in places, sea-floor mapping data suggests.