Japan loosened the bonds on its powerful military, proclaiming the right to go into battle in defence of allies, in a highly controversial shift in the nation's pacifist stance.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon flew into South Sudan Tuesday to demand an end to a brutal four-month-old civil war that has sparked dire warnings of genocide and famine.
Israel approved plans for nearly 14,000 new settler homes during the nine months of peace talks with the Palestinians, an Israeli settlement watchdog said Tuesday as the negotiation period formally ended.
The biggest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines will sign a peace deal on Thursday aimed at ending four decades of deadly conflict that has condemned millions in the nation's far south to brutal poverty.
Syria's opposition leader met Russia's top diplomat on Tuesday in a bid to persuade Moscow to pressure Damascus to agree to a transitional government for the war-scarred nation.
Syria's peace conference moved into a second day Thursday with the warring sides showing no willingness to compromise as global powers seek to engineer head-to-head talks on ending the bloodshed.
US Secretary of State John Kerry launched a second day of talks with Israelis and Palestinians Friday, seeking to hammer out a framework to guide negotiations towards a peace deal.