North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops onto a war footing from 5 p.m on Friday after his government issued an ultimatum to Seoul to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts by Saturday afternoon or face military action.
Pakistan has cancelled the Commonwealth parliamentary conference due to tensions with India over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, officials said on Thursday, days before the two nuclear-armed neighbours are due to meet.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Thursday rejected as "a misrepresentation" suggestions Iran would inspect its own Parchin military site on the agency's behalf, an issue that could help make or break Tehran's nuclear deal with big powers.
One of the convicted killers who led law enforcement on an intense three-week manhunt after escaping a maximum-security prison in upstate New York pleaded not guilty to escape charges on Thursday.
