Former U.N. Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan died on Saturday at the age of 80, his foundation said, after decades of championing efforts to try to end protracted conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Tributes have been paid from across the world to former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan, who died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland, in the early hours of Saturday aged 80.

Russian President Vladimir Putin danced arm-in-arm with Austria's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl at her wedding on Saturday, after receiving an invitation that opposition critics said undermined the West's stance against Moscow.

Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess was told about the existence of cheating software in cars two months before regulators blew the whistle on a multi-billion exhaust emissions scandal, German magazine Der Spiegel said.

A day after two major ratings agencies downgraded Turkey closer to junk status amid a currency crisis, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would challenge those playing "games" on the economy.

China supports the Turkish government's efforts to safeguard security and economic stability and believes that it will overcome its "temporary difficulties", China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, told Turkey's foreign minister on Saturday.

Former cricket star Imran Khan was sworn-in as prime minister of Pakistan on Saturday, taking on the challenge of forming a coalition to govern as a currency crisis looms over the turbulent, nuclear-armed South Asian country.

Marvel Comics mogul Stan Lee won renewal of a protective order on Friday against a onetime business manager accused of subjecting the 95-year-old "Spider-Man" co-creator to elder abuse after taking charge of his affairs earlier this year.

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday hailed the late former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan as a consummate international diplomat who had brought immense pride to his country.

Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of barring its citizens from this year's haj, something Riyadh denies, saying a diplomatic dispute is not stopping Qataris from making the pilgrimage to Mecca.