A new search area failed to yield an immediate breakthrough in the hunt for ill-fated Flight MH370 on Sunday, as Australia appointed its former military chief to help coordinate the operation in the Indian Ocean.

Debris spotted by aircraft and then picked up by ships combing the new search zone proved not to be from the Malaysian Airlines' Boeing 777, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

Polls opened in Thailand Sunday to elect the upper house of parliament in a vote that could hold the key to the fate of the prime minister, who faces possible impeachment for negligence after months of street protests.

While the Senate is officially non-partisan, in reality the two main political camps are vying for control of the chamber in the absence of a functioning lower house following incomplete February polls.

The death toll from several weeks of protests that have paralyzed Venezuela rose to 39 on Saturday after two more people died in separate incidents, Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said on VTV public television that in San Cristobal, hotbed of the movement that has seen some of the worst violence, a 44-year-old man died after being struck by a high tension cable as demonstrators carried a billboard to form a barricade.

The European Union on Saturday signaled that it is ready to deploy its delayed peacekeeping force to help put down the escalating crisis in Central African Republic, after obtaining additional backing for the mission.

The troops were due to deploy last week, but there were insufficient soldiers for the mission and not enough aircraft at hand to transport them.

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Los Angeles on Saturday, a day after a similar seismic shock spooked the sprawling Californian metropolis.

The building housing Agence France Presse's office on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood swayed gently after the latest temblor, which hit at 2:32 pm local time (2132 GMT), two kilometers southeast of the suburb of Rowland Heights.

Authorities in Mexico said Saturday they found more than 370 children dumped by people smugglers while trying to make their way into the United States.

The National Institute of Migration (INM) said the huge number of children, from different nations in Central America, were discovered in just a single one-week period in March.

Colombia has captured an alleged drug money launderer linked to one of the country's top former kingpins, the army said Saturday.

Jose Lenoir Aguilar, accused by U.S. officials of being a front-man for detained drug lord Daniel "El Loco" Barrera, was arrested northwest of the capital Bogota.

French voters went to the polls Sunday for a second round of local elections following a first round last week that saw the far right make sharp gains against President Francois Holland's ruling socialists.

With the Socialists facing a drubbing, Hollande is expected to react by ordering major changes at the top of his beleaguered government. Popular Interior Minister Manuel Valls is widely tipped to replace current Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

The number of people still missing after a monster U.S. landslide dropped dramatically to 30 Saturday, as rescuers held a moment's silence exactly one week after tragedy struck.

The number killed is believed to be at least 27 from the wall of mud and debris which crashed down onto the town of Oso in the state of Washington, although the official toll remains at 18.

About 50 Chinese relatives of passengers on board missing flight MH370 arrived in Malaysia on Sunday to press for answers about the fate of their loved ones.

The grieving families, who have accused Malaysia of hiding information over the fate of the Boeing 777, are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak and his transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein, The Star online said.