Turkey and the United States are working on plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels and jointly sweep Islamic State fighters from a strip of land along the Turkish border, bolstering the NATO member's security and providing a safe haven for civilians.

• July 27, 2015

South Sudan's warring factions may face further international pressure if they do not reach a peace deal by Aug. 17, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday, ahead of talks with east African leaders to study penalties if the deadline is not met.

• July 27, 2015

A Pakistan-based militant group has disowned a splinter faction suspected of a string of killings in Jammu and Kashmir, with the rebuke followed swiftly on Friday by a string of attacks on telecoms facilities in the state's main city.

• July 25, 2015

Turkish warplanes attacked Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time on Friday, with President Tayyip Erdogan promising more decisive action against both the jihadists and Kurdish militants at home.

• July 24, 2015

Turkey has approved the use of its air bases by U.S. and coalition aircraft in the fight against Islamic State, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, marking a major change in policy after a suicide bombing by the militants this week.

• July 24, 2015

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected accusations Turkey had in the past tacitly supported Islamic State militants operating from Syria and had unwittingly opened the door to a suicide bombing that killed at least 32 people.

• July 21, 2015

China's defense minister told the head of Japan's National Security Council on Friday that Japanese legislation that could see troops sent to fight abroad for the first time since World War Two would "complicate" regional security.

• July 17, 2015

The Philippine navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in 1999 to stop it breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates a string of man-made islands nearby.

• July 14, 2015