Syrian government troops backed by Russia and fighters backed by the United States made separate advances against Islamic State on Friday, gaining ground in new offensives that have put unprecedented pressure on the self-declared caliphate.

• June 11, 2016

After a golden decade for economic ties between Germany and China, concerns are growing in Berlin over barriers to foreign firms in China, Beijing's more muscular foreign policy and its increased authoritarianism at home.

• June 11, 2016

The United States could turn to Canada to help it establish a new NATO force in eastern Europe as a deterrent against Russia because it is struggling to win support from its European allies, diplomats say.

• June 9, 2016

Turkey has banned the sale of fertilisers containing ammonium nitrate, which can be used in explosives, after at least half a dozen car bomb attacks this year, the agriculture minister said on Thursday.

• June 9, 2016

A U.S.-led push for India to join a club of countries controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology made some headway on Thursday as several opponents appeared more willing to work towards a compromise, but China remained defiant.

• June 9, 2016

The U.S. military will have two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea this month ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw, as Washington seeks to balance Russia's military activities and accelerate its fight against Islamic State militants.

• June 8, 2016

Russia is building an army base near its border with Ukraine, the latest in a chain of new military sites along what the Kremlin sees as its frontline in a growing confrontation with NATO.

• June 8, 2016

A year after Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition entered parliament as a party for the first time, to great fanfare about a maturing of Turkish democracy, its embattled leader is struggling to save it from banishment to the political wilderness.

• June 8, 2016