Rebels have seized control of one third of the Central African Republic during the past month and reportedly are headed to Libreville for talks with the government. The Seleka rebel coalition is the country's greatest threat to stability since the president seized power in a 2003 military coup d'etat.

John Sheardown, a former Canadian diplomat, who sheltered fugitive American Embassy staffers in his Tehran home during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, has died. He was 88 years old.

Sheardown had been treated for Alzheimer's disease and other ailments before his death December 30 in Ottawa.

The rescue of the Americans has become known as the "Canadian caper" and is depicted in Ben Affleck's Oscar-contender film "Argo." However, Sheardown is not portrayed in the film.

Officials in northern Pakistan say a U.S. drone strike has killed at least nine people suspected of being Taliban fighters.

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year, has been temporarily discharged from a British hospital.

According to the hospital, Yousafzai will spend the next few weeks rehabilitating at her parent’s temporary house elsewhere in England. In the meantime, she will be treated by the hospital as an outpatient. She is scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery in the coming weeks.

Pakistan's ambassador to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, says British authorities are looking after Yousafzai’s security and her whereabouts will not be made public.

A Malian militant group has suspended a ceasefire with the government, saying officials are gearing up for war.

In a statement posted to its website, Islamist group Ansar Dine says it was willing to hold talks but says Mali's government has not shown "the least bit of sincere will for peace and negotiation."

The group accuses the government of buying arms, recruiting fighters, and mobilizing militias.

An Ansar Dine spokesman, Sanda Ould Boumama, confirmed the statement's authenticity to VOA.

The Turkish government is in talks with the imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. However, questions remain as to whether the government is ready to make necessary reforms to persuade rebels to give up their fight when Kurdish nationalism across the region is increasing.

A senior adviser to Turkey's prime minister, Yalcin Akdogan, confirmed Turkish intelligence officers have started talks with the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish group the PKK.

Pakistani security officials say recent U.S. drone strikes in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan have killed at least 14 al-Qaida-linked militants, including a top militant commander.

Officials say several missiles were fired before dawn on Thursday in South and North Waziristan. They say the deadliest strike was in the South Waziristan village of Angoor Adda, where the main militant commander, Mullah Nazir, and his two deputies reportedly were among those killed.

Opposition activists say Syrian rebels have launched another attack near the Taftanaz military airport, an apparent bid to weaken the government's air power.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels fought soldiers near the base in northern Idlib province on Thursday.

The state-run SANA news agency says security forces "strongly confronted" an attempted attack by "terrorists" near the military base on Wednesday.

A similar attack, on Tuesday, prompted officials to close the airport in Aleppo.

Iraqi authorities say a car bomb has killed at least 15 Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims during a religious procession in the country's south.

Police said Thursday's attack in the town of Musayyib hit the pilgrims as they were returning from Iraq's shrine city of Karbala on Thursday, where they performed mourning rituals for a revered figure in Shi'ite Islam. Dozens were wounded in the bombing.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.