Top oil exporters Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to freeze output levels but said the deal was contingent on other producers joining in - a major sticking point with Iran absent from the talks and determined to raise production.

• February 16, 2016

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and Turkey favored a prolonged war in Syria rather than agreeing to a settlement which would lead to President Bashar al-Assad staying in power.

• February 16, 2016

Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent on Monday on news that ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela would hold a previously unpublicised meeting in Doha this week, adding to speculation of a global output deal.

• February 15, 2016

The European Union ended five years of sanctions against Belarus and its authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday, citing improving human rights as the bloc seeks more friends in Russia's back yard.

• February 15, 2016

China's foreign ministry on Monday urged the United States and North Korea to sit down with each other face-to-face and resolve their problems, as tension continues to climb on the Korean peninsula after North Korea's latest rocket test.

• February 15, 2016

China won't take part in any coalition fighting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East, but will do its fair share in its own way and is already helping Iraq, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

• February 14, 2016

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's top court on Sunday the country must forge ahead with developing a large natural gas field, with billions of dollars worth of potential exports, for both economic and security reasons.

• February 14, 2016

Major powers began a new round of Syria talks on Thursday focusing on calls for a ceasefire and access for aid, but the mood was dour with Moscow showing no sign of calling off its bombing in support of a massive new government advance.

• February 11, 2016