Two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers flew near artificial Chinese-built islands in the South China Sea this week and were contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued their mission undeterred, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

• November 13, 2015

Western and Gulf Arab nations have dismissed a Russian plan for peace and reform in Syria and said it will not form the basis for talks in Vienna this weekend.

• November 12, 2015

Syrian opposition figures and Gulf commentators dismissed on Wednesday a Russian draft proposal for a process to solve the Syrian crisis, saying Moscow's aim was to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and marginalize dissenting voices.

• November 11, 2015

China is not aware of any plan to discuss the disputed South China Sea at an Asia Pacific leaders' summit next week, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday, amid tensions between China and the Philippines over the waters.

• November 10, 2015

Russia flew home some 11,000 Russian tourists from Egypt on November 7 and an even larger number is expected to leave on November 8.

• November 8, 2015

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has criticized the Islamic republic's hard-line media, suggesting some of these outlets are working as "undercover police" amid a wave of recent arrests by the country's feared Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that is aimed at cracking down on Western influence.

• November 8, 2015

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists have agreed to complete a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from their frontlines in eastern Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday after a round of peace talks in Berlin.

• November 7, 2015

China has always insisted the dispute in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully through talks, but the government has a responsibility to protect the country's sovereignty and maritime rights, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.

• November 7, 2015