The US airline JetBlue will make the first regular commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than half a century next Wednesday, the Cuban authorities said on Thursday.

Myanmar took stock of toppled spires and crumbling temple walls in the ancient capital Bagan today after a powerful earthquake hit the country, killing three and damaging the top tourist destination.

Colombia's government and FARC rebels announced on Wednesday that they have reached a historic peace deal to end their half-century civil war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

An attack at the American University in Kabul ended early today after two attackers were killed, police said nearly 10 hours after militants stormed the complex, prompting desperate pleas for help from trapped students.

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that shook central Italy rose to 247 today, officials said, as rescuers desperately searched for survivors in the rubble of devastated mountain villages.

Central Italy was struck by a powerful, 6.2-magnitude earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving at least 18 people dead and devastating dozens of mountain villages.

A growing number of wildfires were threatening people and property in the western United States on Tuesday, with the governor of Washington state declaring a state of emergency in 20 counties.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit central Italy on Wednesday and was felt  in Rome some 150 km away, the United States Geological Survey and AFP journalists said.

A large car bomb exploded midnight Tuesday outside a hotel in Thailand's deep south, killing one and wounding more than 30 in a nation already on edge after a bombing spree that targeted tourist towns.