A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China and two other states in the South China Sea on Saturday to counter efforts to limit freedom of navigation, the Pentagon said.

• January 30, 2016

NATO defense cuts slowed sharply in 2015, alliance data showed on Thursday, also revealing a split between big-spending eastern European nations fearful of Russia and others such as Italy that are still reducing their budgets.

• January 28, 2016

The United Nations invited Syria's government and opposition to peace talks in Geneva on Friday, but Saudi-backed opponents of President Bashar al-Assad have yet to decide whether to drop their objections to taking part.

• January 26, 2016

The United Nations said on Monday it would issue invitations for marathon Syrian peace talks to begin this week, but opposition groups signalled they would stay away unless the government and its Russian allies halt air strikes and lift sieges on towns.

• January 25, 2016

The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition ruled out even indirect negotiations with Damascus before steps including a halt to Russian air strikes, contradicting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's insistence that talks will begin next week.

• January 22, 2016

Finland and Norway sought to ease migrant flows from Russia, as tensions over Europe's refugee crisis spread to the continent's northernmost frontiers.

• January 20, 2016

Four months of Russian air strikes in Syria are taking their toll on rebel forces, strengthening the hand of a defiant President Bashar al-Assad as the United Nations struggles to get peace talks off the ground.

• January 20, 2016

Polish President Andrzej Duda has called on NATO to deploy "substantial" numbers of troops and equipment in Eastern Europe to safeguard Poland and the region from a more aggressive Russia.

• January 19, 2016