President Barack Obama raised U.S. concerns directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday over Moscow's handling of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, but there was no sign of a breakthrough on Washington's demand that Russia expel him.

• July 14, 2013

Egypt has accused Iran of "unacceptable interference" in its domestic affairs after Tehran criticized the army's removal of Islamist President Muhammad Morsi.

• July 11, 2013

Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has invited human rights groups to meet with him on July 12 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

• July 11, 2013

A Syrian opposition leader is undermining chances for proposed peace talks by saying that foes of President Bashar al-Assad will only attend if they make military headway first, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

• July 10, 2013

Egypt's interim rulers issued a faster than expected timetable for elections to drag the country out of crisis, a day after 51 people were killed when troops fired on a crowd supporting ousted President Mohamed Mursi.

• July 9, 2013

The new head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters soon, strengthening their currently weak military position.

• July 8, 2013

For Egypt's military chiefs, the final spur to rebellion came on June 26. That day top generals met Mohamed Mursi, the country's first democratically elected president, and spoke bluntly, telling the Islamist leader what he should say in a major speech he planned as protests against him intensified around the country.

• July 5, 2013

Russia voiced concern on Thursday that no progress has been made towards organizing new talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, despite the election of a relative moderate as Iran's president.

• July 4, 2013