The presidents of Russia and Iran agreed on Monday to step up bilateral contacts, including over the Syrian conflict, in which both countries are allies of President Bashar al-Assad.

• March 28, 2016

A Korean-American man detained in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's official news agency and foreign media reported on Friday.

• March 25, 2016

An empty apartment block on a quiet street turned out to be the perfect place for the three suspected Brussels attackers to prepare the home-made nail bombs used in Tuesday's airport and metro attacks that killed at least 31 people.

• March 25, 2016

Ukraine has extended a sanctions list against Russia to include people and institutions involved in the detention of pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens, its Security and Defence Council said on Friday

• March 25, 2016

Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington discussed how to help to end the civil war.

• March 24, 2016

China helped push global green energy investment plans to record heights in 2015, offsetting a sharp fall in Germany, authors of a U.N.-backed report said on Thursday, predicting further growth.

• March 24, 2016

Syrian government forces fought their way into Palmyra on Thursday as the army backed by Russian air cover sought to recapture the historic city from Islamic State (IS) insurgents, Syrian state TV and a monitoring group said.

• March 24, 2016

The head of Syria's delegation in Geneva said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had urged his government to engage positively in peace talks on Wednesday, and he believed the round of talks had broken the diplomatic impasse.

• March 23, 2016