Pope Francis has called for efforts to extinguish the fires consuming the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

The death toll in Sudan's recent heavy rains and floods rose to 62, the Sudanese Health Ministry announced Sunday.

Leaders of the Group of Seven countries have agreed to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power and pledged to seek peace and stability in the Middle East.

South Korea Sunday began two days of war games to practise defending disputed islands off its east coast against an unlikely attack from Japan, further stoking tensions between the Asian neighbours. The annual drills come just days after Seoul terminated a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, with the countries at loggerheads over Japan's use of forced labour during World War II.

Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, official data showed Saturday, as thousands of troops were made available to help fight the worst blazes in years following a global outcry.

Three policemen and five militants were killed during fresh clashes in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province overnight, provincial government spokesman confirmed on Friday.