Russia said on Wednesday it was suspending its nuclear and energy research agreement with the United States as a countermeasure against Washington for imposing sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.

• October 5, 2016

A former senior official from breakaway eastern Ukraine said Russia directly finances pensions and public sector salaries in the two pro-Russian regions there.

• October 5, 2016

France is to launch a new push for United Nations backing for a ceasefire in Syria that would allow aid into the city of Aleppo after some of the heaviest bombing of the war.

• October 5, 2016

Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq will be among representatives of key OPEC producers meeting Russian officials for informal talks on oil output in Istanbul next week, OPEC sources and the Russian energy minister said on Thursday.

• October 5, 2016

Iraq has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the presence of Turkish troops on its territory as a dispute with Ankara escalates.

• October 5, 2016

China hopes to see progress at next month's summit in Peru of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc in pushing ahead with a Chinese-backed trade liberalization framework, China's foreign minister said while on a trip to Lima.

• October 5, 2016

Few noticed, but when Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would once again decide alone how "we label our food" after quitting the European Union it was what many of her pro-Brexit lawmakers had dreamt of.

• October 4, 2016

The United Nations human rights chief told Russia on Tuesday that air strikes on civilian targets in the Syrian city of Aleppo may amount to crimes against humanity which could be brought before the International Criminal Court.

• October 4, 2016