With the clock ticking ahead of Britain's scheduled exit from the European Union at the end of March, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday the "time for playing games" was over after London's rejection of a withdrawal agreement.

The United States and Britain have conducted their first joint naval drills in the disputed South China Sea since China built island bases there, the two navies said on Wednesday, as Washington seeks help from allies to keep pressure on Beijing.

The European Union should allow Britain to extend the formal exit process from the European Union to allow the country more time to decide how it wants to leave the bloc, Germany's economy minister Peter Altmaier said on Wednesday.

Armed Zimbabwean police arrested activist pastor Evan Mawarire at his home on Wednesday and were to charge him with inciting public violence following protests that left three people dead this week, his lawyer said.

The Northern Irish party that props up British Prime Minister Theresa May's minority government does not believe an extension of the period which Britain has to leave the European Union is necessary, Democratic Unionist Party Nigel Dodds said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government faced a no confidence vote on Wednesday after the crushing defeat of her Brexit divorce deal by parliament left Britain's exit from the European Union in disarray just 10 weeks before it is due to leave.

The head of the business lobby group says a delay to Brexit is more likely now, to avoid a no-deal departure.

Kenya's president said early on Wednesday that security forces had killed all four militants who stormed an upscale hotel complex in Nairobi the previous day, in an attack that killed at least 14 people.

A second Brexit referendum is just "hypothesis" for now, said French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau, addressing speculation after Britain's parliament rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal.

An uneasy calm returned to Zimbabwe's main cities on Wednesday but businesses and schools remained closed and mobile networks enforced a government internet shutdown on the final day of a national strike triggered by a steep rise in fuel prices.