The United States voiced concern Monday at the arrest of and charges against peaceful protesters in Myanmar after a protest over educational reform, and called for their release.

More than 60 demonstrators were brought to a court hearing in the central town of Letpadan on Wednesday, two weeks after baton-wielding police violently quelled their rally for education reform in scenes that sparked fears of a return to junta-era repression.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his British counterpart Philip Hammond Monday voiced fears over possible political interference in Nigeria's vote count, as the country awaited the results of weekend elections.

"We have seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process. But there are disturbing indications that the collation process -- where the votes are finally counted -- may be subject to deliberate political interference," the two diplomats said in a joint statement.

Thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops, backed by helicopters and jet fighters, staged a massive, amphibious landing drill Monday -- the centerpiece of an annual military exercise condemned by North Korea.

A total of 7,600 soldiers, including 3,500 marines, along with 80 aircraft, 30 ships, and scores of armored vehicles and tanks, took part in the drill to secure a bridgehead along the coast of Pohang, some 360 kilometers (223 miles) south of Seoul.

Australian airlines must ensure that two crew are on the flight deck at all times, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said Monday in response to the Germanwings disaster.

Investigators believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit of Flight 4U 9525 and deliberately steered the Airbus A320 into a French mountainside last week, killing all 150 onboard.

A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea Monday, sending startled residents fleeing from their homes, but a tsunami threat passed with no immediate reports of major damage.

The quake hit at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), some 55 kilometers from the nearest city of Kokopo on New Britain island and 787 kilometers from the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said.

The White House challenged Iranian negotiators on Sunday to "live up to their rhetoric" and strike a nuclear deal with world powers before a March 31 deadline expires.

Iran and six world powers have reached tentative agreement on key parts of a deal sharply curtailing Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Western diplomats said in Lausanne, where negotiators are racing to nail down an accord by midnight Tuesday.

Tortuous negotiations aimed at laying to rest fears Iran will get nuclear weapons moved into top gear Saturday as both sides demanded the other give ground as a deadline loomed.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Saturday joined nuclear talks with Iran, saying the negotiations were in the "endgame".

Hillary Clinton wiped "clean" her private server that hosted her emails while secretary of state, permanently deleting all correspondence, and did not turn over more of the messages, lawmakers said Friday.

A simmering scandal over Clinton's admitted use of a private email account for the duration of her four years as President Barack Obama's top diplomat has threatened to mar a spring rollout of her all-but-certain White House campaign.

Malaysian police arrested three leading opposition politicians in a bid to thwart a protest march on Saturday demanding the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, his party said.

The protest went ahead anyway, however, with several hundred people taking to the streets of the capital Kuala Lumpur to denounce the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The U.S. military has rescued two Saudi pilots who ejected from their jet off Yemen's coast, as the kingdom launched air strikes on rebel camps in its violence-wracked neighbor, officials said Friday.

The Saudi F-15 fighter jet appeared to be participating in the operations in Yemen, though a U.S. defense official declined to confirm why the men ejected from the plane or why it went down in international waters late Thursday.