The Russian air force and Syrian military are preparing a joint operation to take Aleppo from rebels, the Syrian prime minister was quoted saying on Sunday, and an opposition official said a ceasefire was on the verge of collapse.

• April 10, 2016

A former vice governor of China's populous southwestern province of Sichuan has been put under investigation for suspected corruption, the ruling Communist Party's graft-busting body said late on Saturday.

• April 10, 2016

A rallying cry to Iraqi Sunnis from former President Saddam Hussein's top surviving aide aims to bolster the old ruling Baath party's appeal with Sunni Muslims fearing new reprisals by Shi'ite militias, experts said.

• April 10, 2016

Russian relations with former Cold War adversary NATO will not improve for as long as the alliance continues a "containment policy" toward Moscow, Russia's NATO envoy was quoted as saying on Saturday.

• April 9, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that Afghanistan's national unity government could continue beyond September, a step that could irk the opposition even as he attempts to avert a brewing political crisis.

• April 9, 2016

Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq are netting between $150 million and $200 million per year from illicit trade in plundered antiquities, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter released on Wednesday.

• April 6, 2016

The United States urged Russia on Tuesday to push the Syrian government to allow humanitarian access to besieged areas after a boy starved to death and three children died from landmine injuries in Madaya in the past week because they could not be evacuated.

• April 5, 2016

Upcoming peace talks on a political transition in Syria will test whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can negotiate in good faith, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday before a new round of negotiations in Geneva.

• April 5, 2016