The UN Security Council is expected to adopt on Thursday a US-drafted resolution that threatens to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and sanctions against those blocking efforts to end one of Africa's worst wars.

US President Donald Trump's Republican Party was on course Wednesday for a stunning defeat in a key special congressional election in Pennsylvania, adding to the turmoil engulfing his administration after the sacking of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

From Washington to Los Angeles, students walked out of US classrooms Wednesday in the largest grassroots protest against gun violence seen in years, demanding action one month to the day after a deadly shooting rampage at a Florida high school.

Donald Trump -- making his first trip to California as president -- warned Tuesday there would be “bedlam” without the controversial wall he wants to build on the border with Mexico, as he inspected several prototype barriers.

Israel’s government reached a deal on Tuesday to avoid snap elections after days of speculation over the motives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing possible indictment for corruption.

Global warming could place 25 to 50 per cent of species in the Amazon, Madagascar and other biodiverse areas at risk of localised extinction within decades, a report said Wednesday.

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported, as diplomatic efforts to engage Pyongyang ramp up.

Children are at more risk than ever in Syria’s devastating conflict, the United Nations said on Monday as the war approached its eighth year.

The US on Monday urged the United Nations Security Council to maintain sanctions on North Korea until there is real progress toward scrapping Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.