An Iran nuclear deal is not likely by June 30 because technical details will remain to defined and Iran will not get sanctions relief before the end of the year in the best of cases, western ambassadors said on Tuesday.

• May 26, 2015

China outlined a strategy to boost its naval reach on Tuesday and held a groundbreaking ceremony for two lighthouses in disputed waters, developments likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing's maritime ambitions.

• May 26, 2015

The Pentagon on Tuesday said it was "unhelpful" for Iraq's Shi'ite militia to have announced an openly sectarian code name for the operation to retake the Sunni city of Ramadi and added that, in the U.S. view, the full-on offensive had yet to begin.

• May 26, 2015

Germany formally protested to Russia on Monday over Moscow's refusal to let a conservative German lawmaker into the country, a decision the Foreign Ministry criticized as unacceptable amid East-West tensions over the Ukraine crisis.

• May 25, 2015

The Philippines is seeking a "stronger commitment" from the United States to help its ally, the defense minister said on Monday, as China asserts its sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea.

• May 25, 2015

About 100 fighter jets from the United States and eight European nations began an Arctic training exercise in the Nordic nations on Monday, a region worried by increased Russian military activity.

• May 25, 2015

Russia would adopt a tough position if Ukraine decided not to pay off debts owed to Moscow by its previous government, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast by Russian TV on Saturday.

• May 23, 2015

South Korea called on Saturday for deeper cooperation with Japan on a China-led development bank, while Japan remained cautious about the lender, which it and ally the United States have held back from joining.

• May 23, 2015