World News Update, what you need to know

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has failed to have a Swedish detention order overturned but is buoyed by the fact prosecutors have been criticised for allowing their sex assault investigation to stall.

ELSEWHERE:

CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says the possibility of granting presidential pardons to three jailed Al-Jazeera journalists, including Australian Peter Greste, is being considered.

KIEV - Almost 1000 people have been killed in Ukraine since a ceasefire came into effect in September, an average of 13 people a day, the United Nations says, as the conflict in the east drags on.

WASHINGTON DC - US President Barack Obama is poised to claim broad authority to grant work permits to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States and to protect them from deportation.

DAMASCUS - A high-level Syrian delegation is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a possible relaunch of peace talks with the opposition, a senior Syrian official says.

MANAMA - Bahrain is preparing to hold its first elections for a new parliament since Arab Spring-inspired protests erupted nearly four years ago.

LONDON - A new report shows the global cost of obesity has risen to $US2 trillion ($A2.2 trillion) annually - nearly as much as smoking or the combined impact of armed violence, war and terrorism.

SANTA BARBARA - A shaken Honduras has held a funeral for its Miss World contestant and her sister after the sister's boyfriend shot them in a jealous rage.