The United States hailed new sanctions imposed by South Korea against Iran as increasing pressure on Tehran to return to the negotiating table to address concerns about its nuclear aims.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called Sudanese leaders in a bid to defuse what she called the ''ticking time bomb'' of an inevitable secession of the country's restive and oil-rich south.

A small Florida church shrugged off global outrage and vowed to go ahead with a Koran burning ceremony amid growing fears it will ignite a wave of Islamic rage.