The United Arab Emirates pulled out of the air campaign fighting Islamic State militants after the capture of a Jordanian pilot who has since been killed by the extremists, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was fighting for his job yesterday after backbenchers publicly called for a Liberal Party vote on his leadership following months of tensions stoked by fading poll numbers and policy backflips.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who carved out a more assertive role for Canada on major international issues, announced Tuesday he is stepping down and will not stand in upcoming elections. The surprise departure of one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's most trusted lieutenants is a major loss as the conservative leader seeks a fourth mandate to govern in October elections. The 45-year-old Baird gave no reason for his decision to step down.

Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious centre of learning, expressed outrage at the Islamic State group for burning to death a captive Jordanian pilot, saying its militants deserve to be killed or crucified.

A packed commuter train crashed into a car on the rails outside New York City during Tuesday evening rush hour, killing seven people, officials said. The driver of the car and six people in the first carriage of the train were killed when the train slammed into an SUV vehicle around 6:30pm, triggering an explosion and fire, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a late night news conference.

Nigerian Boko Haram fighters went on the rampage in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol yesterday, massacring civilians and torching a mosque before being repelled by regional forces.

Britain on Tuesday became the first country in the world to allow the creation of babies with DNA from three people after MPs voted for the controversial procedure.

A convicted terrorist has claimed that Saudi Arabian officials supported al-Qaeda financially in the years leading up to 9/11 and discussed shooting down Air Force One during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Shelling at a hospital in east Ukraine killed four people yesterday ahead of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry that will see possible arms supplies high on the agenda.

The Delhi High Court yesterday issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Election Commission, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer and others on a writ petition questioning the legality of his candidature from the New Delhi seat for the upcoming Assembly elections.

A top US diplomat promised yesterday that Washington would be a friend and partner of Colombo as she made the first visit by a senior American official since the toppling of Sri Lanka's long-time strongman.

An Egyptian policeman was arrested Sunday for having shot dead an Islamist detained in a Cairo hospital with injuries from his arrest, the interior ministry said. The ministry, on its Facebook page, said the victim was a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood arrested as he tried to plant a bomb in the capital's Al-Warraq district, without giving a date.

Pro-Russian separatists vowed yesterday to mobilise up to 100,000 fighters for their latest east Ukraine offensive as the US mulled sending weapons to Kiev's out-gunned forces after the latest truce bid collapsed.

Thailand's junta vowed yesterday to tighten security after two homemade pipe bombs detonated near a Bangkok shopping mall, the first major disruption to an uneasy peace imposed under martial law since last May's coup.

While union home Minister Rajnath Singh termed as "really unfortunate" that a reference to religious divide in India was made in US President Barack Obama's farewell address, he however said he "endorsed" Obama's statement that an India divided on religious lines cannot progress.

After controversy over another cartoon for the Delhi elections, days after the BJP said it would focus on a "positive campaign only," the party yesterday accused the Aam Aadmi Party of giving "casteist meaning" to a metaphor.

Pakistan yesterday test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, just over a week after its arch-rival India reached a new civilian nuclear accord with the United States.

As uncertainty persists over talks aimed at ending the 12-year standoff on Iran's disputed atomic programme, hurdles to an agreement are stacking up.

China said yesterday it opposed foreign leaders meeting the Dalai Lama "in any form", ahead of a public appearance by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader with US President Barack Obama.

Pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko announces plans to recruit 100,000 men, as fighting with Ukrainian forces intensifies.