North Korea on Tuesday warned the United States of a "horrible disaster" and put its troops on alert over a massive joint naval drill involving a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier alongside South Korean and Japanese vessels.

WASHINGTON: The United States moved closer to the possibility of the first-ever default on the government's debt Sunday as Speaker John Boehner adamantly ruled out a House vote on a straightforward bill to boost the borrowing authority without concessions from President Barack Obama.

CAIRO: At least 50 people were killed in clashes between Islamists and police in Egypt, as thousands of the military's supporters marked the anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

LAMPEDUSA, ITALY: Pairs of divers plumbed calmer seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday to recover the corpses of would-be asylum seekers who died when a fishing boat packed with 500 African migrants capsized within sight of land. By nightfall, 83 bodies had been retrieved, including one child, raising the official death toll to 194.

ISLAMABAD: One of Pakistan's most powerful men, General Ashfaq Kayani, is likely to stay head of the military with a new title when he steps down as army chief next month, government and security sources said, taking over some of the duties of his successor.

 WASHINGTON: Amid continued political impasse leading to a government shutdown, the US appeared to be no closer to resolving the crisis, the first in 17 years, with time fast running out for raising the debt limit.

MOGADISHU, Somalia: A government official, a militant fighter and a town resident say a foreign military power has carried out a strike in southern Somalia.

MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday evacuated all of its diplomats and their families from Libya, the day after a mob attack on the Russian embassy, and issued a warning to its citizens against visiting the country.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama cancelled a trip to Asia next week because of the government shutdown, the White House announced late Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO: FBI agents found him in the science fiction section of a small branch of the San Francisco public library, chatting online.