US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday played down an apparent split between the US president and his top diplomat over outreach to North Korea, saying America's focus was still on finding a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

Vladimir Putin's comments on North Korea appeared to draw the lines for a clash at the United Nations pitting Moscow and Beijing against Washington and its allies.

France has been acting relentlessly to promote a diplomatic solution to the ongoing rift in the region in support of the efforts made by the Kuwaiti mediation, French ambassador Eric Chevallier has said.

A breast cancer drug that costs £90,000 a year per patient has been turned down for use by the NHS on financial grounds, triggering an outcry from patients groups who say it prolongs the lives of people seriously ill with the disease.

The US homeland security chief said yesterday he takes seriously an apparent threat by Somali-based Islamist militants against prominent ...