South African President Jacob Zuma resigned on Feb 14 as the ruling ANC party finally turned against him after nine years of corruption scandals, economic slowdown and falling popularity.

A former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a Florida high school on Feb 14, killing at least 17 people, officials said, in a harrowing shooting spree that saw terrified students hiding in closets and under desks as they texted for help.

South Africans were on tenterhooks on Wednesday as their scandal-tainted President Jacob Zuma was expected to respond to his party's decision to "recall" him from office in an atmosphere of growing political turmoil.

Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra resigned on Tuesday after admitting lying, triggering a political bombshell and a vote of no-confidence in the country's prime minister.

US concerns over the EU's landmark defence cooperation pact and increasingly strained relations between Washington and Turkey look set to loom large as NATO defence ministers meet for talks on Wednesday.

A man who rented his flat to Islamic State jihadists will be sentenced Wednesday in the first trial stemming from 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 people dead.

International aid began trickling in on Wednesday to areas of Tonga devastated by Cyclone Gita, as Fiji escaped the worst of the storm's fury.

Top leaders of South Africa's ruling ANC will meet on Monday to "finalise" the departure of embattled President Jacob Zuma after party chief Cyril Ramaphosa promised to bring "closure" to the crisis.

Tonga declared a state of emergency on Monday as a powerful cyclone bears down on the Pacific island nation after wreaking havoc in neighbouring Samoa.