Former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell endorsed President Barack Obama's re-election bid on Thursday, giving him a symbolic boost in the neck-and-neck White House race days ahead of the vote.

"I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012, and I'll be voting for he and for Vice President Joe Biden next month," the Republican heavyweight told CBS television's "This Morning."

Amnesty International Warns EU States against Beating Protesters

Anti-austerity demonstrators in Europe have suffered excessive police violence, Amnesty International said Thursday in a report urging European Union (EU) governments to protect the right to peaceful protest.

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck off southern Taiwan on Thursday, the island's Seismology Center said, but there were no reports of any damage or casualties.

The tremor, which was felt across the south of the island, struck at 6:31pm (1031 GMT), 22.1 kilometers (13.73 miles) south of the island's second biggest city Kaohsiung, at a depth of 33.0 kilometers under the sea, the center said.

At least 20 people have been killed in a fresh wave of communal violence sweeping western Myanmar, a Rakhine state spokesman said Thursday, adding the death toll could ultimately more than double.

"At least 20 people (both Buddhist and Muslim) have been killed in clashes since October 21. The death toll can reach about 50," Myo Thant told AFP.

At least six civilians were killed in war-ravaged Somalia after their bus was hit close to the frontline with al-Qaida-linked Shebab fighters, witnesses said Thursday.

"Six people including two women were killed, and at least five others were seriously injured when a big explosion hit their minibus," said Hassan Yahya, a witness.

Kenyan security forces must end the abuse of residents in crackdowns and reprisal raids in the hunt for suspected backers of Somalia's Al-Qaida-linked Shebab militants, Human Rights Watch warned Thursday.

Since Nairobi invaded southern Somalia last October to attack Shebab bases, a string of attacks have rocked the volatile northeastern region, including grenade blasts targeting both the security forces and civilians.

Four Chinese government ships spent several hours in territorial waters around disputed Tokyo-controlled islands on Thursday, for what Japan's coastguard said was the first time in three weeks.

The move came as Tokyo and Beijing reportedly prepared for talks on a row that has derailed the relationship between Asia's two largest economies and dented their huge trade ties.

A senior Taliban commander and 24 of his fighters were killed in a battle with Afghan security forces in a northern village which also left five police dead, officials said Thursday.

The commander of the attack was the Taliban shadow governor for the northern province of Faryab where the gunfight took place on Wednesday, according to the officials.

Sudan is a "dangerous terrorist state," a top Israeli defense official said on Thursday after the Sudanese government accused Israel of carrying out a deadly missile strike on a military factory in Khartoum.

Sudanese officials say the attack on the Yarmouk facility south of Khartoum, which took place at around midnight on Tuesday and killed two people, was carried out by four radar-evading aircraft.

Chinese police said Thursday they were offering up to $16,000 as a reward for information on the "black hands" behind a string of self-immolations in a Tibetan-inhabited region.

Notices have been posted in Gannan prefecture in the northwest Gansu province offering the rewards after several Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest at China's rule of the region.