Armed men shot dead a police officer and a soldier in their car on the outskirts of Cairo on Saturday, Egypt's state news agency said, a day after suspected militants armed with knives wounded three European tourists in a Red Sea resort.

• January 9, 2016

Iran's foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia's "provocations" toward Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week.

• January 9, 2016

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants says its air strikes have cut oil production by the group in Syria and Iraq by around 30 percent.

• January 6, 2016

Iran has revealed a previously undisclosed underground bunker housing its latest ballistic missile.

• January 5, 2016

Islamic State (IS) fighters have launched several offensives near the city of Haditha in northwest Iraq in the last 48 hours.

• January 5, 2016

A social network account belonging to Russia's communications minister has been blocked briefly by hackers identifying themselves as a Turkish activist group.

• January 4, 2016

Saudi Arabia has cut diplomatic relations with its regional rival, Iran, after attacks on the Saudi Embassy and consulate in Tehran over the execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric by Riyadh.

• January 4, 2016

Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built in a contested part of the South China Sea.

• January 2, 2016