American car giant General Motors recalls more than 220,000 vehicles, mainly in the US and Canada, due to a brake defect.

Authorities in Sierra Leone say a three-day curfew aimed at containing the Ebola outbreak has been a success and will not be extended.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says he hopes a key bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan can be signed before the end of the month.

The Mexican authorities have issued a new alert about a toxic spill into a river from a copper mine run by the mining giant, Grupo Mexico.

Two people are killed and others injured in a series of blasts in Luntai county in China's restive Xinjiang region, Chinese media say.

Turkey closes most of its border crossings with Syria after the entry of at least 70,000 Kurd refugees, as IS militants approach a key Syrian town.

Hong Kong students begin a week-long boycott of classes to protest against China's stance on electoral reform in the territory.

Siemens of Germany makes a $7.6bn acquisition of US firm Dresser-Rand to help boost its oil and gas business in North America.