Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called an explosion that tore through a Saint Petersburg supermarket, wounding 13 people, "an act of terror." 

Syria's ruined rebel holdout region of Eastern Ghouta, from where urgent UN-demanded medical evacuations started on Wednesday, has been under siege for four years, suffering attacks and malnutrition.

Washington's latest overwhelming defeat at the United Nations may have been an embarrassment, but any claim it has lost its role as Middle East peace mediator will likely prove premature.

The war in Syria seems to be winding down nearly seven years into the conflict, largely because of Russian-backed government victories and local cease-fires aimed at freezing the lines of conflict.

Underscoring this perception is the fact that President Bashar Assad — however battered and bruised — has survived the war, sitting more comfortably now than at any time since the rebellion against his rule erupted in March 2011.

Catalans are voting Thursday to try and solve a crisis triggered by an independence drive in one of the most strategic regions of Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.

Catalonia goes to the polls Thursday, in a vote that pits separatist leaders against candidates who want to stay part of a unified Spain.

The streets of Kalasseh, a neighbourhood of Aleppo formerly held by rebels, are jammed with traffic again and its pavements are packed with people and overflowing market stalls.

North Korea's sprint towards full-fledged nuclear statehood accelerated sharply in 2017, raising fears about a devastating atomic exchange to levels not seen since the Cold War.

The year 2017 saw significant destruction to the Islamic State (IS), which lost almost all of its self-proclaimed "Caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, but experts warn the group is adapting and continues to be a threat.

US-led forces invaded Saddam Hussein's Iraq in 2003 after claims it was harbouring weapons of mass destruction.