Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dared her political rival Kevin Rudd to challenge her in a leadership vote.

A bodyguard accused of stealing from Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court today.

There was plenty of beer and dancing after the winner of Rio de Janeiro’s famous carnival was announced.

The first court hearing in the US civil case being brought against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will take place on March 15.

American President Barack Obama made waves with his version of an Al Green classic in January - and now he is singing at the White House as well.

AU envoy Olusegun Obasanjo has met with Senegalese opposition leaders to try to defuse tensions ahead of the weekend elections in Dakar.

The UN nuclear watchdog ended its latest mission to Iran after talks on Tehran's suspected atomic weapons research failed.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm after six people were shot dead during protests over the burning of copies of the Qur’an.

Ekurhuleni metro police have arrested six men and confiscated three firearms after stopping a minibus near Roodekop.

Three members of the United States Congress have received threatening mail containing a suspicious powder.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross met with a Syrian opposition leader this week to weigh its initiative for an immediate ceasefire in Syria.

The UN Security Council has boosted an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia to intensify a military offensive against Islamist rebels there.

The verdict in the trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will be delivered on June 2.

Gunshots and explosions echoed across Kano as Nigerian soldiers battled suspected Boko Haram militants.

Opposition lawmakers walked out of Zambia’s Parliament this week in protest against what they called “violations” of the constitution.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he does not support the persecution of homosexuals despite the re-introduction of a controversial anti-gay bill in Parliament recently.

Sudanese security officials have suspended the independent al-Tayar newspaper only two days after agents confiscated an entire edition.

The body of a five-year-old girl was among those discovered inside the stricken Costa Concordia this week.

Forty-nine people were killed and more than 600 were injured in a rush-hour train accident in Buenos Aires.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from custody after two days of questioning about an alleged illegal prostitution ring.