THE scent of burgers and fries has wafted through the White House as US president Donald Trump laid on a fast food feast for a champion college American football team.

Two French policemen have gone on trial on charges of gang-raping a Canadian tourist at Paris police headquarters nearly five years ago.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has said he has "no idea" whether he can get a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for his border wall as the partial US government shutdown slipped into the record books.

SINN Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has defended two senior party members' attendance at last week's inauguration of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Congo opposition candidate Martin Fayulu has said he will file a court challenge to the presidential election results, while his coalition said he received 61 per cent of the vote according to the findings of the influential Catholic Church's election observers.

Just 5 per cent of the world's land is untouched by human activity, highlighting the importance of conserving areas other than pristine wilderness, a study suggests.

President Donald Trump visited the US-Mexico border yesterday in a bid to bolster his case for a wall after talks with Democrats ended in acrimony.

Supporters of the surprise Democratic Republic of Congo presidential winner have celebrated in the capital as the rival opposition candidate denounced the result as fraudulent.