Two small planes collided in midair and plunged into the ocean off of Los Angeles harbor. There was no immediate word of any survivors, authorities said. Los Angeles County Fire helicopter crews land at Angels Gate Park as rescue boats continue to search for wreckage from two small planes. (Photo: AP)
The Zika virus has been transmitted sexually, top United States health authorities have confirmed, fueling fears of the rapid spread of the disease blamed for a surge in the number of brain-damaged babies. (Photo: AP)
A massive construction crane collapsed in downtown Manhattan, killing at least one person and seriously injuring two others, a spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said. (Photo: AP)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged Britain and Sweden to let him walk free from Ecuador's embassy in London after a UN panel found that the anti-secrecy campaigner was \"arbitrarily detained.\" Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in west London for more than three years in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations, a charge he has denied. (Photo: AP)
Australia is considering subjecting thousands of refugees from Syria to tougher character and security checks than their European counterparts to minimise the risk of \"extremist infiltration\", a leaked policy document says. (Photo: AP)
Lawmakers can now breastfeed in the Australian Parliament after the government changed the rules to make politics more family-friendly. But none of the nursing mothers appeared keen to take up the opportunity. (Photo: AP)
Eight dead sperm whales have washed up on a German beach, just weeks after 12 of the giant mammals were found dead at other sites on the North Sea, officials said. (Photo: AFP)
Two weeks after jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso riddled the Taxi-Brousse bar with bullet holes during an assault in the capital that left 30 dead, the venue has reopened with staff saying they refuse to live in fear. (Photo: AFP)
World Health Organisation is warning that dozens of people linked to the most recent cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone are still missing and 18 are at high risk of having the virus. (Photo: AP)
German police conducted raids and arrested two suspects in an investigation of four Algerian men who are suspected of planning attacks in Germany and having ties to the Islamic State group. (Photo: AP)
World leaders pledged over $10 billion (9.0 billion euros) to help conflict-hit Syrians at a London conference overshadowed by the breakdown of peace talks in Geneva. (Photo: AP)
US Senator Ted Cruz soundly defeated billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa's Republican nominating contest, upending the party's presidential race. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had won by a razor-thin margin against US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history. (Photo: AP)
Israeli forces demolished at least a dozen buildings in a disputed military zone in the southern West Bank near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, leaving a number of families homeless, authorities and residents said. (Photo: AFP)
Nearly 40,000 Syrian civilians have fled a regime offensive north of Syria's Aleppo city that began earlier this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. (Photo: AFP)
China inaugurated the military's five new \"battle zones\", the Defense Ministry said, the latest step in President Xi Jinping's efforts to reform the country's armed forces. (Photo: AP)
Residents and traders in southern Nepal dismantled tents and roadblocks set up by protesters at a key border crossing, allowing trucks to cross freely from neighbouring India for the first time in four months. (Photo: AP)
A volcano in southern Japan erupted, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, with television footage showing dramatic images of the fiery spectacle. The agency said on its website that Sakurajima in southern Kagoshima prefecture erupted at 6:56 pm. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. (Photo: YouTube Video Grab)
As many as 19 people were killed and dozens were injured in a fire at four-star Capitol Hotel in the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Dozens more were injured and taken to hospital in Arbil, said Fakher Harki, the department's spokesperson. (Photo: AFP)
Cranes were being used to search darkened parts of the structure for survivors.
Here's a look at the important events in the world this week.