Gillard victory

Canberra, March 21 (Reuters): Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard stared down a leadership crisis on Thursday and ensured she will lead the government into a September 14 election after she called a surprise leadership vote over her chief rival Kevin Rudd.

Gillard stamped her authority on the governing Labour Party by being re-elected unopposed after Rudd conceded he did not have the numbers to topple her.

Kurd truce

Diyarbakir, Turkey (Reuters): Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to ceasefire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people.

Kuwait term

Kuwait (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti court has increased the prison sentence of a grocer convicted of insulting Gulf Arab emirate's ruler on Twitter to the maximum five years, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Copter crash

Berlin (Reuters): One person was killed and four others injured on Thursday after two helicopters collided while taking part in a police training exercise in Berlin, the city’s fire brigade said.