Jordan's King Abdullah appointed veteran politician Hani Mulqi as caretaker prime minister on Sunday after dissolving parliament as its four-year term nears its end, and charged him with organising new elections by October.

• May 29, 2016

Servicemen from the U.S.-led coalition were seen near the front line of a new offensive in northern Iraq launched on Sunday by Kurdish peshmerga forces that aims to retake a handful of villages from Islamic State east of their Mosul stronghold.

• May 29, 2016

Forces loyal to Libya's U.N.-backed unity government say they aim to encircle Sirte, Islamic State's stronghold in Libya, having moved to within 15 km (10 miles) of the city center.

• May 29, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the sights of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a U.S. missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security.

• May 28, 2016

The world community has yet to find an adequate response to cultural destruction as shown by the deliberate wrecking of ancient sites in Syria and Mali by Islamist radicals, the head of the UN's cultural organization said.

• May 28, 2016

Pakistan has banned advertisements for contraceptive products on television and radio over concern that they expose inquisitive children to the subject of sex, local media reported on Saturday.

• May 28, 2016

An agreement on renewing sanctions against Russia when they run out on July 31 has become more difficult with growing opposition from some EU countries, Germany's foreign minister said on Thursday.

• May 26, 2016

Russia and the European Union need to build a 'an equal and fair dialogue' as partners to overcome their differences, President Vladimir Putin said in an article published in a Greek newspaper on Thursday on an eve of a visit to the country.

• May 26, 2016