Crowd of thousands protests corruption

Tens of thousands of Moldovans took to the streets on Sunday in the capital, Chisinau, calling for early elections as the country continues to be rocked by a 1-billion-euro banking scandal.

Putin doesn't plan to employ combat troops in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had no plans "right now" to put combat troops on the ground in Syria, but will continue backing the Syrian government.

Iran's leader says Assad must keep power

Iran's president says Syrian leader Bashar Assad must remain in power to fight extremist groups like the Islamic State group, and must not be weakened.

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Iran demands apology for hajj deaths

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded on Sunday that Saudi Arabia apologize for a stampede that killed nearly 770 pilgrims at the hajj, at least 144 of them Iranians.

Russia, Iran, Syria cooperating in Iraq

Iraq said on Saturday that its military officials were engaged in intelligence and security cooperation in Baghdad with Russia, Iran and Syria to counter threats from Islamic State extremists, a pact that could raise concerns in Washington.

France expands airstrikes to Syria

France launched its first airstrikes in Syria to expand its military operations against Islamic State extremists, President Francois Hollande's office said on Sunday.

Fresh clashes break out in Jerusalem

Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Sunday morning, firing rubber-coated bullets at "rioters" amid fresh clashes at the flashpoint site, police said. A police spokesperson said masked Palestinian youths "threw stones and firecrackers at police and border police forces" who responded with "riot dispersal means".

Government orders VW to set compliance timetable

German authorities gave Volkswagen a deadline of Oct 7 to set out a timeline for bringing all its diesel cars in line with national pollution standards, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

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UN: World took too long to act

The United Nations High Commissioner for refugees said on Saturday the world waited far too long to respond to the refugee crisis sparked by the wars in Syria and elsewhere, though rich countries now appear to understand the scale of the problem.

Govt pressured for answers on missing students, one year later

Tens of thousands marched in Mexico City on Saturday to demand answers on last year's disappearances of 43 students, piling new pressure on President Enrique Pena Nieto to clear up a case that has battered his image.