World News Update, what you need to know

Malaysia and Indonesia say they will no longer turn away refugees on boats, in a major breakthrough for the region's migrant crisis that came just hours after hundreds more starving people were rescued at sea.

ELSEWHERE:

BEIRUT - Islamic State extremists have seized almost full control of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra after government defence lines there collapsed.

WASHINGTON - Hunkered down in his Pakistani compound, Osama bin Laden pleaded with his followers to stay focused on attacking the United States instead of being dragged into Muslim infighting.

MULLAGHMORE, Ireland - Britain's Prince Charles has spoken of his "anguish" at the murder of his godfather by IRA paramilitaries in 1979 as he became the first royal to visit the assassination site in Ireland.

GENEVA - Ebola-hit Guinea and Sierra Leone saw a spike in new cases last week, the World Health Organization says, dashing hopes that the deadly outbreak was petering out.

WASHINGTON - US securities regulators have hit Australia's mining giant BHP Billiton with a $US25 million ($A31.6 million) penalty for violating a bribery law by treating foreign officials to trips to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

WASHINGTON - It's not just texting: American motorists admit to surfing the web, posting tweets and even taking selfies while behind the wheel, a new survey shows.