The German government expects 500,000 refugees to come to Germany this year, German newspaper Rheinische Post cited sources from the Federal Labor Office as saying.

The European Union ended five years of sanctions against Belarus and its authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on February 15, citing improving human rights as the bloc seeks more friends in Russia's back yard.

About 50 civilians were killed when missiles hit five medical centers and two schools in rebel-held Syrian towns on February 15, the United Nations and residents said.

US President Barack Obama urged Russia on February 14 to stop bombing "moderate" rebels in Syria in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad, a campaign seen in the West as a major obstacle to latest efforts to end the war.

Civilian casualties of the war in Afghanistan rose to record levels for the seventh year in row in 2015, as violence spread across the country in the wake of the withdrawal of most international troops, the United Nations reported on Feburary 14.

Central African Republic votes on February 14 in elections seen as a crucial step toward restoring democratic rule and ending years of violence that have left the impoverished nation split along religious faultlines.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls rejected on February 13 the idea of a permanent quota system for distributing refugees across Europe, putting Paris at odds with Germany ahead of a summit to discuss the EU crisis over migration.

Turkey's military shelled Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria on February 13 and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded that the group withdraw from the area in a move that further complicated the conflict across the NATO member's border.

Russia said on February 13 a Syria ceasefire plan was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes took rebel ground near Aleppo and set their sights on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province.

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation on February 12 broadening sanctions to punish the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its nuclear program, human rights record and cyber crimes, and sent the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.