The president of war-torn Central African Republic said on Thursday he no longer enjoys the power he seized in a bloody March coup as ruling the country has affected his sleep.

In a public meeting with representatives from political parties, Michel Djotodia complained that the assembled group could sleep easy while he lay awake worrying about national security, sometimes even forgetting about his wife lying next to him.

Madagascar's military-backed government sacked a third of the country's regional administrators and replaced them with army brass ahead of a second round of presidential elections, prompting allegations of a partial coup Thursday.

Andry Rajoelina's government appointed five colonels and three generals to run the eight provinces, predominantly in the lawless south of the country where cattle rustling is common.

Venezuela accused the United States of "interference" in its internal affairs Thursday after Washington expressed concern that President Nicolas Maduro had been granted powers to rule by decree.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry declared its "most profound, categorical and energetic rejection" of Wednesday's comments by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Turkish police and protesters clashed on Thursday at the opening of the trial of two people charged with the death of a young man during anti-government street demonstrations this year.

The trouble occurred as a crowd of about 500 people gathered to seek justice for the 19-year-old victim tried to storm the heavily-protected courthouse in Istanbul, an AFP photographer said.

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, found guilty in June of paying for sex with an underage prostitute, falsified evidence and corrupted dozens of witnesses in a bid to escape jail, a court report said Thursday.

Judges discovered "persistent delinquency... consisting of the systematic falsification of evidence... and the paying off of witnesses," the court said in a sum-up of its decision to sentence the former premier to seven years behind bars and ban him from public office.

The U.S. Senate will move to impose new sanctions on Iran in December if nuclear negotiations between Western powers and Tehran do not bear fruit, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Thursday.

"The Senate must be prepared to move forward with a new bipartisan Iran sanctions bill when the Senate returns after the Thanksgiving recess. I'm prepared to do just that," Reid said.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan received unplanned medical treatment in London on Thursday after he "became indisposed" and was forced to miss a scheduled meeting, his spokesman said.

"In the course of his ongoing visit to London for a meeting of Nigeria's Honorary International Investors' Council, President Goodluck Jonathan became indisposed and could not be present at the opening of the meeting today," said Reuben Abati.

British police on Thursday rescued three women from a house in London where they are believed to have been held as slaves for at least 30 years.

Scotland Yard police headquarters said the victims were a 69-year-old Malaysian, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old Briton.

After 700 grueling kilometers of walking across scorched, arid plains, some two dozen women from Pakistan's troubled southwestern Baluchistan province are nearing the end of their march to seek justice for missing loved ones.

For nearly a month they have walked for brothers, sons and husbands who have disappeared, allegedly at the hands of Pakistan's security services.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday met a high-ranking delegation from Kabul tasked with pushing forward Afghanistan's peace process, according to a statement from his office.

The three-member group representing the High Peace Council (HPC) arrived in Pakistan a day earlier on a mission that, according to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was meant to include a meeting with Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's former deputy freed from jail in September.