US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to keep the peace process from collapsing, urging them to reach a long-elusive deal.
Beijing's military accused Tokyo of a "highly dangerous provocation" by interfering in Chinese live-fire drills in the Pacific last week, warning that Japanese lives could be at stake.
Democratic Republic of Congo troops were in a mopping up operation to rout the remaining pockets of the M23 rebel movement, after seizing their last stronghold in a push to finally break the back of the insurgency.
Israel has reportedly carried out an air strike on a Syrian military installation to stop a shipment to Hezbollah, as inspectors said Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal.
UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi headed for Damascus to seek support for a Syria peace conference, as Russia slammed rebels for threatening those planning to attend the so-called Geneva II talks.
A car bomb outside a mosque near Damascus killed at least 40 people on Friday, an NGO said, as a top UN official expressed mounting concern over hundreds of thousands of trapped civilians.
Mexico ordered an investigation into allegations that the US spied on the emails of its president and his predecessor, the latest diplomatic wrangle stemming from America's intelligence-gathering efforts.
Australia's former attorney-general has launched a scathing attack on Labor colleague and ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd, calling him a rude and disorganised "bastard" who should quit parliament.
A senior Dutch diplomat at the Netherlands embassy in Moscow was beaten up at his home in the Russian capital by unknown individuals who scrawled the letters "LGBT" on a mirror.
North Korea's top military body lashed out Friday at South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, warning that she was leading the Korean peninsula back into confrontation.
The United States hit out Wednesday at Russian troops' efforts to build a de facto border in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro lashed out at the United States anew Wednesday, warning after he expelled three US diplomats in Caracas that the rest could be next.
President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of the top US diplomat in Venezuela and two other embassy officials, accusing them of plotting acts of sabotage with the opposition.
The United States and Russia agreed a draft UN Security Council resolution Thursday on destroying Syria's chemical weapons, breaking a prolonged deadlock over the country's bitter conflict.