Latest: Russia's ambassador in London Alexander Yakovenko suggested that the British Government was making allegations against Moscow as part of an "anti-Russian campaign" to divert attention from Brexit.

He called it "by far the biggest mistake I have committed in my entire career".

An evacuation of critically ill Syrians trapped in a rebel-held suburb near the capital Damascus is under way.

Seoul will consider sending a special envoy to North Korea if Pyongyang stops its missile and nuclear tests, South Korea's president has said.

Donald Trump has said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "will regret it fast" if he continues his threats to US territories and allies.

The United States will respond by September 1 to Russia's attempt to force a major reduction in American diplomatic staff, Rex Tillerson has said.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is threatening "counter actions" against the United States over a pair of Russian diplomatic compounds seized by the United States last year.

Austria's foreign minister has urged dozens of counterparts to overcome a "crisis of confidence" hobbling the work of a 57-nation group tasked with reducing tensions in Europe.

US president Donald Trump has described his lengthy head-to-head encounter with Russian president Vladimir Putin as a "tremendous meeting".

The White House has issued a warning to Bashar Assad as it claimed "potential" evidence showed Syria was preparing for another chemical weapons attack.

Russia is trying to verify reports that its military has killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an air strike targeting a meeting of militant leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial rule in the country's south for 60 days to deal with with an attack by Muslim extremists allied with the Islamic State group who laid siege to a southern city.

With reports of nervous White House staff trying to hide from a screaming president who spends his day in front of the TV, Elizabeth Drew looks at the possible way forward.

Donald Trump's national security adviser has insisted the US president's revelations to Russian officials about the terrorist threat from Islamic State were "wholly appropriate" and amounted to a routine sharing of information.

Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin's senior diplomat at the White House on Wednesday in a signal that US relations with Russia have improved.

Boris Johnson has pulled out of a visit to Moscow in the wake of the Syrian chemical weapons attack saying "we deplore Russia's continued defence of the Assad regime".

Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have said they are taking over scores of factories and mines in the region, many of them belonging to a tycoon whose foundation has been the largest provider of humanitarian aid to the war-battered population.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are ready to act as guarantors in a peace deal between the Syrian government and the opposition, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Hundreds of civilians have streamed out of eastern Aleppo by foot as Syrian troops and allied forces waged a relentless campaign to drive rebels from their rapidly crumbling enclave.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has warned Syrian rebels in Aleppo that they will be wiped out unless they agree to stop fighting and quit the besieged city.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is threatening to cut off all contact with Moscow over Syria, unless Russian and Syrian government attacks on Aleppo end.

The United States, Russia and more than a dozen other countries have declared that Syria's ceasefire is not dead despite increasing violence on the ground.

A ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia is set to begin in Syria at sunset today.

Russia has warned it could break diplomatic ties with Ukraine over reported security incidents in Crimea, something it did not do even after annexing the disputed territory or throwing its support behind separatist rebels in the east.

World and regional powers have agreed to try and turn a fragile truce in Syria into a comprehensive ceasefire.

Russia has accused the Ukrainian government of dragging its feet on implementing last year’s cease-fire agreement.

US officials said the US and Russia have agreed a plan for a ceasefire in Syria starting on Saturday that would exclude attacks on the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaida’s local affiliate.

US secretary of state John Kerry said yesterday that a “provisional agreement” has been reached on a ceasefire that could begin in the next few days in Syria’s five-year civil war.

US secretary of state John Kerry has opened talks with Russia’s foreign minister in a bid to narrow divisions over how to end Syria’s civil war and restore stability in eastern Ukraine.

Russia's deputy defence minister has accused Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of personally profiting from oil trade with militants from the so-called 'Islamic State' group.

Moscow has decided to suspend visa-free travel with Turkey, the Russian foreign minister said.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has described as a “stab in the back” the downing of a Russian fighter plane by Turkey.

Iran has been invited to participate for the first time in international talks over Syria’s future, US officials said yesterday on condition of anonymity, adding that Iran has yet to reply.

Turkey has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest at the violation of its airspace by a Russian war plane near the border with Syria, the Foreign Ministry said.

Russian military jets have carried out air strikes in Syria for the first time, targeting what Moscow said were IS positions.

Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce today that they have reached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy that would curb Iran’s atomic programme in return for sanctions relief, two diplomats said yesterday.

Iran nuclear talks passed their second deadline in a week yesterday, casting new questions about the ability of world powers to cut off all Iranian pathways to a bomb through diplomacy. But the parties agreed to continue their talks.

Russia has said it will be at least six months before it can deliver a missile system to Iran, but the Kremlin confirmed a barter deal to supply Russian goods in exchange for Iranian oil was already being implemented.

The Ukrainian woman with Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov when he was gunned down told Russia media yesterday that she did not see his killer, as conflicting reports emerged about the availability of surveillance footage showing the slaying.