The Philippines and Japan held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea on Tuesday, while Japan's coastguard works with Vietnam this week, as Tokyo boosts maritime ties with two nations at odds with Beijing over the disputed waterway.

• May 12, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine and other issues, the United States said on Monday in a statement that made no mention of their deep disagreements.

• May 11, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday that the peace process in eastern Ukraine was progressing despite difficulties.

• May 10, 2015

Yemen's dominant Houthi group accepted a five-day humanitarian ceasefire proposed by its adversary Saudi Arabia on Sunday but said it would respond to any violations of the pause.

• May 10, 2015

The U.S. military has started training Syrian fighters to combat Islamic State militants, officials said on Thursday, adding the program had begun in Jordan and would soon launch in Turkey.

• May 7, 2015

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had launched its third major push in as many years to find common ground between the warring parties in Syria and for the first time said it hoped Syria's armed opposition groups might come to Geneva.

• May 5, 2015

Europe aims to improve security and defense cooperation with China, especially in the Middle East and in the fight against human trafficking, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday following high-level talks in Beijing.

• May 5, 2015

Local fighters battling the rebel Houthi militia in Yemen's port of Aden stormed areas around the airport on Sunday in an operation supervised by the Saudi-led coalition, which also provided air support, the group's spokesman said.

• May 3, 2015