British officials have picked up nine migrants who were trying to cross the English Channel aboard an inflatable boat, French authorities said Wednesday, a day after 17 others succeeded in reaching Britain in a stolen fishing boat.

The violence which drove 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh was "without excuse", US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on a summit sidelines Wednesday. 

Boko Haram jihadists have killed at least 16 farmers and left dozens missing in the latest attacks in restive northeast Nigeria's Borno state, militia and residents said on Wednesday. 

Brazil's indigenous peoples have long battled to protect their ancestral lands and native cultures -- but the election of far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has sparked concerns that hard-won rights could be eroded.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek her cabinet's approval Wednesday for a long-awaited divorce deal with the EU, but hardline Brexiteer MPs warned they will seek to block it in parliament.

Sri Lanka's parliament will meet under tight security Wednesday, after the top court ruled its dissolution illegal and opened the door to a vote on which of two rival prime ministers has the support to rule.

The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to lift sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

The death toll from a huge blaze in northern California rose to 42 on Monday, making it the deadliest wildfire in state history.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday he was prevented from flying out of Moscow for a European court ruling on whether his recent detentions have been politically motivated.

"Border guards are saying that leaving is forbidden for me," Navalny wrote on Twitter.

Twelve migrants have managed to reach the English coast after crossing the Channel in a stolen French fishing boat, using what authorities said Tuesday was a "unprecedented" means of getting to Britain.

French agents monitoring the coastline alerted their British counterparts after seeing a boat that was taking a "bizarre" route between 9.30pm and midnight on Monday, said Ingrid Parrot, spokeswoman for maritime authorities in northern France.