The White House Thursday demanded a vote to confirm President Barack Obama's pick for Pentagon chief this week and blasted Republicans for sending a bad signal to US allies by delaying his appointment.

Former Maldivian leader Mohamed Nasheed, who has taken refuge at the Indian embassy in the capital to evade arrest, has demanded the dropping of charges against 800 party workers, his spokeswoman said.

Mamphela Ramphele has resigned as chairwoman of Gold Fields, the mining company said Wednesday amid speculation she will start a South African political party to rival the ruling ANC.

South Africa's ANC on Wednesday slammed "misguided" opposition claims that the storied ruling party's support could drop to under 60 percent in upcoming elections.

US Senator Marco Rubio, in the Republican response to Tuesday's State of the Union, challenged President Barack Obama to abandon his tax "obsession" and find a way to boost growth and cut the deficit.

A Senate committee on Tuesday approved Chuck Hagel to be the next US secretary of defense, a key step in a process that could see the controversial nominee confirmed as early as this week.

North Korea's ruling party has called for the staging of a "high-intensity" action and further long-range rocket launches, state media reported on Tuesday, ahead of an expected nuclear test.

Joining the White House in its demand for tougher gun laws, two dozen US lawmakers will host gun violence victims and relatives Tuesday at President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali's gamble on forming a new cabinet in defiance of his Islamist party after the murder of an opposition head left Tunisia in political limbo Sunday with possible resignations from the government.

US Republicans are rebranding themselves in the wake of last year's defeat, but the makeover is looking less like a genuine bid to woo women and minorities and more like a civil war within the party.

Tunisia's prime minister threatened to quit on Saturday and warned of chaos unless key ministries held by fellow Islamists go to independents in a new government of non-partisan technocrats.

Oil-rich Angola's highest court has upheld the constitutionality of a five billion dollar sovereign wealth fund, state media reported, in a move rejected by an opposition party Saturday.

A Kashmiri separatist convicted of involvement in a deadly 2001 attack on the Indian parliament was executed on Saturday in New Delhi -- triggering protests on both sides of the border in disputed Kashmir.

Members of Tunisia's main ruling Islamist party called for a rally in the capital on Saturday, a day after police clashed with protesters at the funeral of murdered opposition figure Chokri Belaid.

US Senator Marco Rubio has been tapped to give the Republican response to President Barack Obama's upcoming State of the Union address, party leaders said Wednesday, boosting his stature as a rising national heavyweight.

Prosecutors questioned a former treasurer of Spain's ruling party on Wednesday over allegations of corrupt payments implicating Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

President Barack Obama Tuesday called for stop-gap spending curbs and tax reforms to avert multi-billion dollar budget cuts due to hammer the economy on March 1, but hit a Republican brick wall.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will keep his job despite being named in a corruption scandal, but the affair leaves him weakened as he tries to steer Spain out of a deep economic crisis, analysts say.

The endgame of the US gun control debate is coming into focus, with a consensus forming around steps likely to fall short of the sweeping reform vision favored by President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama Tuesday called for stop-gap spending curbs and tax reforms to avert multi-billion dollar budget cuts due to hammer the economy on March 1, but hit a Republican brick wall.