World

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that all the signs were "pointing towards an act that we can't describe: criminal, crazy, suicidal".

"China has always placed Sri Lanka in an important diplomatic position in region," Xi said before reporters were ushered from the room.

Bishnoi said the real solution lies in achieving durable peace and the UNSC's actions should focus on achieving this.

It was the first disaster involving a large passenger jet in France since a Concorde crashed outside Paris nearly 15 years ago.

"I did indicate to him that we continue to believe that a two-state solution is the only way for the long-term security of Israel, if it wants to stay both a Jewish state and democratic," the US President said.

Singh, who is widely popular as the 'Water Man', was named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for improving water security in rural India.

Gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed Tunisia's national museum on Wednesday, killing 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians in one of the worst militant attacks in a country that had largely escaped the region's "Arab Spring" turmoil.

"The government is deeply saddened by the tragedy caused by the category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam, which struck Vanuatu from March 13, 2015, leading to loss of lives and widespread destruction of property."

Uber is partnering with the UN on its million-women driver goal.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has declared himself the caliph.

PEN American Center said the Indian government's censorship of the documentary is a "worrying attempt" to restrict free expression.

"India is the only country in the Asian region capable of standing against China," Former National Security Adviser MK Narayanan said.

The assault against Nimrud came just a week after the release of a video showing Islamic State forces smashing museum statues and carvings in Mosul.

The quake was 23 miles deep and centred 114 miles (183 km) west of the town of Padang.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Noorul Haq Qureshi took up the plea of 55-year-old Lakhvi against his detention under a public security act.

The deadliest of the day's attacks came shortly before sunset, when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's southeastern suburb of Jisr Diyala.