Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow.

• January 11, 2016

An attempted attack by Islamic State on a military base in northern Iraq shows Turkey's decision to deploy troops there was justified, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, suggesting Russia was stirring up a row over the issue.

• January 9, 2016

Armed men shot dead a police officer and a soldier in their car on the outskirts of Cairo on Saturday, Egypt's state news agency said, a day after suspected militants armed with knives wounded three European tourists in a Red Sea resort.

• January 9, 2016

Iran's foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia's "provocations" toward Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week.

• January 9, 2016

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants says its air strikes have cut oil production by the group in Syria and Iraq by around 30 percent.

• January 6, 2016

Iran has revealed a previously undisclosed underground bunker housing its latest ballistic missile.

• January 5, 2016

Islamic State (IS) fighters have launched several offensives near the city of Haditha in northwest Iraq in the last 48 hours.

• January 5, 2016

A social network account belonging to Russia's communications minister has been blocked briefly by hackers identifying themselves as a Turkish activist group.

• January 4, 2016