The African Union on Tuesday gave Sudan and South Sudan 90 days to settle their disputes over oil, citizenship and boundary issues or face binding international arbitration. But, the ultimatum came amid more talk of war and an increase in border hostilities.

A ministerial-level session of the AU Peace and Security Council threatened to abandon its high-level Sudan mediation process unless the talks begin to show results.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says the actions of neighboring Sudan amount to a declaration of war.

His remarks Tuesday came during talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing. Mr. Kiir is in China on a five-day trip that will include opening a new embassy for South Sudan.

The U.S., China and other world powers have called on Sudan and South Sudan to stop fighting and resume peace talks.

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, said Monday there will be no further talks and that the south only understands the language of “guns and ammunition.”

South Korea appears to be taking seriously the latest attack threat from North Korea.

Police say they have increased patrols around headquarters of nine conservative media outlets in Seoul after North Korea vowed to soon carry out a "special military action" on them by "unprecedented means and methods."

South Korea's government says it is concerned about Pyongyang's threat to reduce to ashes, in several minutes, the support base for the country's president, including several broadcasters and a leading daily newspaper, the Dong-a Ilbo.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir says there will be no further talks with South Sudan, defying international calls to settle their differences through dialogue and avert a full-scale war.

Mr. Bashir made the comments to soldiers Monday during a visit to the oil-producing area of Heglig, which the Sudanese army regained from southern forces on Friday.

Mr. Bashir said the south only understands the language of “guns and ammunition.”

North Korea is escalating its war of words against the South Korean government over what the North perceives as insults by the South. Pyongyang is now threatening to turn the heated rhetoric into action, threatening to take “quick action” against South Korea.

Senior newscaster Ri Chun Hee, interrupting regular programming on North Korea's central television station early Monday afternoon, forcefully read an unusual announcement from a unit of the army's supreme command.

Vietnam and the United States on Monday began their annual naval exchange near a former U.S. army base in Danang city amid mounting tensions over competing sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

With salvage and disaster training as well as a performance from the military band, the schedule of events seems harmless enough. However, some observers say the activities are an intrinsic part of a delicate diplomatic balancing act over contested territory in the South China Sea.

Authorities said a passenger plane has crashed near the Pakistani capital, and all 127 people on board are feared dead.

Aviation authorities said the crash occurred just a few kilometers away from Islamabad’s International airport.

The Boeing 737 aircraft was coming from the southern port city of Karachi and went down as it was preparing to land in bad weather. Civilian and military rescue teams are at the scene to try to retrieve the victims but so far there have been no reports of any survivors.

South Sudan has said it will withdraw troops from an oil-rich area it seized last week that is also claimed by Sudan, easing tensions with its former civil war foe and fears of a return to all-out war.

Reading a statement from South Sudan President Salva Kiir, government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin announced the pullout of South Sudan‘s army -- the SPLA -- from the Heglig area on Friday.

China has recently joined with other countries in condemning North Korea for a failed missile launch earlier this month. It was a rare public rebuke of its internationally isolated ally, leading many to closely scrutinize whether Beijing’s policies toward Pyongyang are shifting.

This week U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said China has provided some assistance to North Korea’s missile program, possibly violating U.N. sanctions on the country.

Beijing has denied the allegations, but Panetta says that China must do more to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.