A U.S. Senate panel voted unanimously on Thursday to seek trade or other sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been holed up for weeks at a Moscow airport.

• July 26, 2013

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday the European Union had given Israel justification to attack Lebanon by blacklisting the armed wing of his group, and would bear responsibility for any Israeli military action.

• July 25, 2013

U.S. intelligence program leaker Edward Snowden has been granted documents by Russia allowing him to leave a Moscow airport, according to Reuters and Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

• July 24, 2013

Early on, Al-Qaeda was a close-knit band of extremists with common cause, a centralized leadership, and a base from which to launch global operations.

• July 24, 2013

EU foreign ministers have agreed to list the military wing of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

• July 22, 2013

Military support from Iran and its Shi'ite ally Hezbollah has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad new impetus in his fight against the insurgents intent on ousting him, but at a price.

• July 21, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he saw signs that Edward Snowden, the former U.S. spy agency contractor turned fugitive secrets leaker, was shifting towards stopping "political activity" directed against the United States.

• July 15, 2013

Turkish police fired water cannon and tear gas on Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park, which has been at the heart of fierce unrest against Prime Minister Erdogan's rule.

• July 14, 2013