Ukraine has taken its first military action against a pro-Russian uprising in the east as government forces repelled about 30 gunmen at an airport, beginning what the president called an “anti-terrorist operation” to restore authority in the region.

President Barack Obama granted an audience to Tibet’s Dalai Lama yesterday over the strong objections from China that the US was meddling in its affairs.

Protesters in the Ukrainian capital claimed full control of the city today following the signing of a Western-brokered peace deal aimed at ending the nation’s three-month political crisis.

Iran has started to shut down its most sensitive nuclear work as part of a landmark deal struck with world powers, state media said today.

Iran has pulled out of talks with six world powers in protest at the expansion of US sanctions, saying the blacklisting of more entities violates the spirit of a groundbreaking agreement over Tehran’s atomic programme.

US secretary of state John Kerry is flying to Geneva, Switzerland, to join six world powers for talks on Iran’s nuclear programmes, in a last-minute decision that suggests a deal could be imminent.

Germans used to joke that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s penchant for communicating via fleeting text messages effectively marked the end of traditional historiography.

The Obama administration is considering ending spying on allied heads of state, as the White House grapples with the fallout from revelations that the US has eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Senior German officials will travel to the US “shortly” to talk to the White House and the National Security Agency about spying allegations, including how chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was allegedly monitored by the NSA.

European leaders united in anger at a summit overshadowed by reports of widespread US spying on its allies, which German chancellor Angela Merkel said had shattered trust in the Obama administration and undermined the crucial transatlantic relationship.

The German Foreign Ministry has summoned the US ambassador in the wake of allegations that American intelligence may have targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.

The German government said Chancellor Angela Merkel has called Barack Obama after receiving information that US intelligence may have targeted her mobile phone.

Republicans are offering to pass legislation to avert a debt default and end the partial government shutdown as part of a package that includes cuts in benefit programmes, officials in the House of Representatives say.

Barack Obama is hosting senior Republicans today to seek an opening in an impasse that has shut down much of the government and threatens a catastrophic federal default.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played the spoiler to Iran’s attempts to ease relations with the West, calling the Iranian leader “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and declaring that Israel will do whatever it takes to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it has to stand alone.

Much of the vast machinery of the US government has ground to a halt as Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for a partial shutdown that closed federal agencies, national parks and research facilities across the nation.

US secretary of state John Kerry has arrived in Geneva to test the seriousness of a Russian proposal to secure Syria’s chemical weapons.

A possible diplomatic solution to avoid a US military strike has opened up as Syria swiftly welcomed a suggestion to turn over all of its chemical weapons for destruction under international control.

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger was a murderer and violent criminal but it was the long-accepted fact he was an FBI informant that he was most concerned with denying, writes Michael Clifford

US President Barack Obama has called his predecessor, George W Bush, to wish him well as he recovers from a heart procedure to ease a blocked artery.

US sanctions against any country offering asylum to Edward Snowden have advanced in Congress as the 30-year-old National Security Agency leaker remained in a Moscow airport while Russia weighed a request for him to stay permanently.

Egypt’s military-backed interim leader has named a new prime minister and won $8bn (€9.3bn) in promises of aid from wealthy Arab allies in the Gulf.

Former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela, the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said after a Russian lawmaker posted a statement to that effect on Twitter and then deleted it.

The US has asked for help from both enemies and uneasy allies in an effort to catch fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

South Africa’s president urged the country to pray for critically ill Nelson Mandela, describing him as the “father of democracy” who made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of his people.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in hospital for a fifth day after being admitted on Sunday for a recurring lung infection.

Given the potential gains, hoax attacks such as the recent fake White House bomb tweet from Associated Press will continue, write Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik

US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Russian president Vladimir Putin for a tougher stance on Syria at a time when Israeli air strikes against the Middle Eastern nation have added an unpredictable factor to the talks.

The two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon appear to have been motivated by a radical brand of Islam but do not seem connected to any Muslim terrorist groups, US officials have said after interrogating and charging Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with crimes which could bring the death penalty.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was yesterday charged by federal prosecutors in his hospital room with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill — a crime that carries a possible death sentence.

It has been reported that a US man accused of mailing letters with suspected ricin to national leaders including Barack Obama believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market, and claimed “various parties within the government” were trying to ruin his reputation.

A man was arrested yesterday, accused of sending letters that tested positive for deadly ricin to US President Barack Obama and a Senator.

US President Barack Obama has apologised to California’s top lawyer for calling her “the best-looking attorney general”.

North Korea warned foreign embassies in Pyongyang that it was unable to guarantee their safety after Apr 10 and they should consider evacuating their missions amid soaring nuclear tensions.

President Barack Obama will return 5% of his salary to the US Treasury in a show of solidarity with federal workers hurting from $85bn in government spending cuts.

The top US military commander in Europe has said that several Nato countries are working on contingency plans for possible military action to end the two-year civil war in Syria.

The three major US credit bureaus say hackers who have posted credit reports on celebrities and government officials in recent days did not breach secure databases but relied on personal information they collected elsewhere on the public figures.

US first lady Michelle Obama and vice president Joe Biden are among the latest public figures to have their private information posted on a mysterious website.

Sweeping US government spending cuts totalling $85bn will begin today, in an unwanted move towards austerity that lays bare Washington’s paralysing partisan divisions.

A 15-year-old girl who performed at Barack Obama's inauguration festivities is the latest name on the ever-increasing murder list in the president's home town.

The White House has confirmed it will go ahead with the nomination of General John Allen to become commander of Nato forces in Europe.

House of Representatives Republican leaders have offered President Barack Obama a three-month reprieve to a looming, market-rattling debt crisis.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to cut short his first foreign visit since taking office to focus on the Algerian hostage crisis.

Algerian special forces launched a rescue operation yesterday at a natural gas plant in the Sahara Desert and freed foreign hostages held by al Qaeda linked militants, but estimates for the number of dead varied wildly from four to dozens.