The United Nations voiced alarm on Friday about the fate of nine North Koreans feared to have been deported from Vietnam via China back to their homeland, saying they might face torture or even execution.

• November 20, 2015

Moscow and Cairo signed an agreement on Thursday for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, with Russia extending a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction.

• November 19, 2015

China is to buy a batch of 24 Sukhoi-35 fighter jets from Russia in a deal worth more than $2 billion, an industry source told Reuters on Thursday, in a move that may help the Kremlin's strained finances.

• November 19, 2015

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, suggesting closer trade ties between the 28-nation EU and a Russian-led economic bloc once a ceasefire is implemented in Ukraine.

• November 19, 2015

Europe's energy boss said on Wednesday EU member states lacked sufficient alternatives to Russian supplies and called for "an urgent political push" for strategic power and gas links to share resources.

• November 18, 2015

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the West had to drop its demands about the political exit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if it wanted a genuinely international coalition against Islamic State militants.

• November 18, 2015

India has warned of Islamic State using regional militant groups to mount strikes in the country, and has increased security around the diplomatic missions of the United States, France and Britain among others, a government advisory said.

• November 18, 2015

Two employees of Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh airport have been detained for questioning over the crash of a Russian airliner that killed all 224 people aboard, two security officials and an airport employee said on Tuesday

• November 17, 2015