North Korean leader Kim Jong Un voted in nationwide local elections on Sunday that registered the near 100 percent turnout claimed for every ballot held in the nuclear-armed state.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday pledged to keep alive his plans to amend the country's pacifist constitution, despite failing to secure a "supermajority" in upper house elections.

China reacted furiously on Monday to anti-government protesters vandalising the walls of the Beijing representative's office in Hong Kong and defacing the national emblem, branding their actions "absolutely intolerable".

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed victory Sunday for his ruling coalition in the upper house election but appeared to fail to secure a "supermajority" in the chamber in support of his dream to amend the nation's pacifist constitution.

The White Helmets, rescue workers in rebel areas named after their distinctive hard hats, said the group "mourns the fall of a hero Anas al-Dyab, a volunteer and media activist with the Syrian Civil Defence Centre in Idlib," in a Twitter post.

An Israeli minister boasted Sunday that his country was the only one that "has been killing Iranians", after tensions between Britain and Iran rose in the Gulf.

Iran has executed a nurse convicted of murdering a six-year-old boy, the judiciary's official news agency reported on Sunday.

Four members of a family including two women were killed by fellow villagers in central India's tribal heartland over allegations of witchcraft, authorities said Sunday.

The United States is deploying troops in Saudi Arabia as tensions soar with its arch-rival Iran raising concerns over navigation in the Gulf's strategic Strait of Hormuz.

A huge explosion rocked a gas plant in central China on Friday, causing many injuries and shattering windows and doors of buildings in a three-kilometre (1.9-mile) radius, state media said.

Taiwan's government said Friday it would provide assistance to Hong Kongers seeking sanctuary after local media reported dozens of activists involved in an unprecedented storming of the city's parliament had fled to the island.

Details emerged Friday of the horrifying blaze that ripped through a Japanese anime firm, killing dozens including people who tried in vain to reach the roof, but the motive for the suspected arson remained unclear.