Hosting NATO’s top brass, Montenegro said on Wednesday it was optimistic of being invited to join the Western military alliance in December, over the objections of Russia.

• October 14, 2015

China said on Wednesday it had no plans to send military ships to Syria to fight with Russian forces after reports in overseas media that it was planning to do so.

• October 14, 2015

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday Moscow was helping the fight against Islamist insurgents in Iraq with the consent of the Baghdad government.

• October 14, 2015

Turkey has warned the United States and Russia it will not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains by Kurdish militia close to its frontiers in north-western Syria, two senior officials said.

• October 13, 2015

China's exports fell less than expected in September, with monthly figures showing recovery, but a sharper fall in imports left economists divided over whether the country's ailing trade sector is showing signs of turning around.

• October 13, 2015

Iran's conservative-dominated parliament passed a bill on Tuesday approving its nuclear deal with world powers, signaling victory for the government over hardline opponents who worry the accord opens a door to wider rapprochement with the West.

• October 13, 2015

A Kurdish militia in northern Syria has joined forces with Arab rebels, and their new alliance has been promised fresh weapon supplies by the United States for an assault on Islamic State forces in Raqqa, a spokesman said on Monday.

• October 12, 2015

Turkey's government said on Monday Islamic State was the prime suspect in suicide bombings that killed at least 97 people in Ankara, but opponents vented anger at President Tayyip Erdogan at funerals, universities and courthouses.

• October 12, 2015