New Zealanders go to the polls on Saturday in a cliffhanger election that sees conservative Prime Minister Bill English battling a challenge from charismatic young rival Jacinda Ardern.

French unions will stage new protests on Thursday against an overhaul of the country's labour code, hoping to build pressure on President Emmanuel Macron days before his signature reform is expected to become law.

A landmark free trade deal linking EU and Canada went into effect on Thursday despite lingering opposition from activists worried about the pact's consequences on the environment and health.

The United Nations on Wednesday launched a new push to bring stability to Libya, which has been ravaged by chaos since the 2011 ouster of longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Brazil's scandal-plagued former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a tough-talking rightwing congressman lead voter intentions ahead of next year's presidential elections, a poll said Tuesday.

Hurricane Maria closed in on the US Virgin Islands late Tuesday as the US National Hurricane Centre warned of a "potentially catastrophic" impact from a storm that has already killed at least two people in the Caribbean.

Nearly 140 people were killed when a powerful, 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the capital and sowing panic on the anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake.