Australia has returned home six Sri Lankans which it said were onboard a "people smuggling boat" after intercepting it at sea, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Wednesday.

Donald Trump, who during his presidential campaign has vowed to ban Muslim immigrants and erect a wall to prevent Mexican immigration, said on Tuesday that he would reject bigotry "in all forms" if elected president.

Louisiana has faced epic flooding, with six people killed and thousands evacuated to emergency shelters after waterways in the southern part of the state overflowed their banks.

Zambia's incumbent president Edgar Lungu has been declared the winner of a closely-fought election but the victory was immediately challenged by his main rival.

An Arab coalition air raid has hit a Yemeni hospital, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 19, just 48 hours after strikes that killed children, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.

China successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gobi Desert at 1:40 am on Tuesday.

Dozens of US nuclear weapons stored at a Turkish air base near Syria are at risk of being captured by "terrorists or other hostile forces," a Washington think tank claimed on Monday.

The Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen said it would allow humanitarian flights into Sanaa's international airport from Monday, after several days' closure due to renewed hostilities around the capital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday India was becoming the world's most attractive destination for foreign investors, using his annual Independence Day speech to trumpet sweeping tax reforms designed to spur growth.