WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military believes that some 50,000 Islamic State fighters have been killed since the United States started battling the group more than two years ago, a senior U.S. military official said on Thursday, calling it a "conservative estimate."

By Lincoln Feast and Greg Torode SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Vietnam has begun dredging work on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, satellite imagery shows, the latest move by the Communist state to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway.

LA PAZ (Reuters) - The head of the Bolivian company whose plane crashed in Colombia last month, killing dozens of Brazilian soccer players, will be held on manslaughter and other charges until the investigation is complete, authorities said on Thursday.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - The longest-serving member of Brazil's Supreme Court, Justice Celso de Mello, voted on Wednesday to overrule an injunction ordering the head of the Senate to step down following an embezzlement indictment. De Mello said Calheiros should be allowed to stay in his position but must be removed from Brazil's presidential line of succession sue to his indictment.

By Charlotte Greenfield and Swati Pandey WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English is set to be confirmed as the country's next leader after both his competitors for the prime ministership dropped out of the race on Thursday.

By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Kwasi Kpodo ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana voted on Wednesday in a presidential election that looks set to be a tight race, with the incumbent John Mahama seeking a second term in charge of an economy that has slowed since he took power.

PIDIE JAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Rescue efforts resumed in Indonesia's Aceh province on Thursday after a strong earthquake killed more than 100 people, while medical teams struggled to treat the hundreds of injured as supplies trickled slowly into the area.

PARIS (Reuters) - Manuel Valls, who launched a bid for France's presidential election on Monday, would not gather enough support to go through to its second round, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday. Valls, President Francois Hollande's prime minister since the spring of 2014, quit this week to run for president after Hollande himself decided against seeking a second term.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Yemen on Tuesday appeared to reject a U.N. plan to end its civil war, saying the roadmap would create a "dangerous international precedent" by legitimizing the rebellion against the country's internationally recognized government.

By Hani Amara SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes finished clearing the last Islamic State holdout in Sirte on Tuesday after a near seven-month battle for the militant group's former North African stronghold. The forces gained full control over a final patch of ground in Sirte's Ghiza Bahriya district after hours of clashes.