Greece will hold a repeat general election on June 17 while the new parliament will convene on June 28, an official decree signed by Greek President Karolos Papoulias said on Saturday.

A Turkish cargo vessel with a ten-member crew sank on Saturday at Ionion Sea on the western part of Greece, and the body of the dead captain was retrieved during an ongoing rescue operation for three more missing seamen, local media reported, citing Greek Coast Guard.

The Greek parliament elected with the May 6 general elections was formally dissolved on Saturday morning, so that new national elections can be held on June 17, according to a presidential decree issued.

Soldiers and police officers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal will make up the ECOWAS military force which started being deployed to Guinea-Bissau on Thursday to provide security for the transitional organs following the April 12 coup d'etat.

Heavy fighting raged between Yemeni government troops and the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch in the southern province of Abyan on Saturday morning, killing up to 25 insurgents and five soldiers, a government official said.