The United States is in ongoing discussions with Russian authorities over the fate of fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.

Carney, briefing reporters traveling with U.S. President Barack Obama to Africa, reiterated Washington's wish to see Snowden -- currently in the transit area of a Moscow airport -- expelled to face espionage charges.

Fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is still in the transit zone at a Moscow airport but has the right to fly anywhere he desires, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"He has not violated Russian law, he has not crossed the border, he is in the transit zone of the airport and can fly anywhere that he wants," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry. "The sooner this happens, the better".

A French court was to rule Wednesday on the appeal of Carlos the Jackal, once one of the world's most-wanted militants, against his conviction for a series of deadly bombings in France 30 years ago.

The eccentric 63-year-old Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, addressed the court for four hours at the end of the six-week trial Wednesday, before a panel of judges went into chambers for deliberations.

Serbian premier Ivica Dacic held out hopes of bringing the country into the EU fold within a quick four to five-year span Wednesday, a day after European Union ministers recommended that the bloc kick off membership talks by January.

"We are not keen on having these talks last 10 years, we hope in four or five years," Dacic said as he urged EU leaders to confirm the ministers' recommendation at a summit Friday.

Hundreds of African migrants hurling stones stormed a border fence from Morocco into Spanish territory in a "violent" assault on Wednesday, authorities said, the latest in a series of such attempts.

A local Spanish government spokeswoman said there was a "massive assault" in the early hours at one point of a six-meter (20-foot) fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on the Mediterranean coast.

Spain flatly denied Wednesday allegations that its police shot at a jet ski in waters off Gibraltar and criticized Britain for giving credence to rumors.

The alleged incident on Sunday off the disputed rock has escalated into a diplomatic row.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday said that Georgia is getting nearer to full NATO membership but key reforms lie ahead before the former Soviet state can join the organisation.

"Georgia is closer but there is still work to do," Rasmussen told journalists at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili in Tbilisi.

Australia's former leader Kevin Rudd ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as Labor chief in a dramatic internal ballot Wednesday, deposing the country's first female premier as the party fights desperately to head off defeat in September elections.

The embattled Gillard -- who vowed to quit politics in September if she lost -- called the vote after a day of internal party maneuvering to dump her in favor of her arch-rival and predecessor, whom she had ruthlessly deposed in 2010.

In a huge victory for gays and lesbians, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law denying federal benefits to homosexual couples and cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California.

Cheers rang out among the estimated 1,000 supporters of same-sex marriage who gathered under brilliant sunshine outside the high court in Washington for the historic rulings, which will have a major impact on U.S. society.

The European Commission has written to British Foreign Secretary William Hague demanding answers by the end of the week on leaked reports that Britain's spy services are tapping cables that carry the world's phone calls and Internet traffic.

"I have sent a letter to express my concern," the EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told a briefing on Wednesday, adding: "I have asked for a very urgent reply by the end of this week."