Iraqi Shi'ite militias said on November 16 they had driven Islamic State fighters from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the Sunni group's supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev on November 15 over allegations he extorted a US$2 million bribe from top oil producer Rosneft, a case that could expose fault lines in the Russian leader's inner circle.

Barack Obama offered solidarity with Greece over its debt and migrant crises on November 15 during his final trip to Europe as US president before handing over power to Donald Trump.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on November 15 that Yemen's Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition fighting it had agreed to a ceasefire from November 17, as Washington presses for an end to the war before President Barack Obama leaves office.

The European Union agreed on November 15 to increase its military research budget for the first time since 2010 after Britain softened its opposition, a breakthrough that may signal British support for defense co-operation even once outside the bloc.

European Union foreign ministers on November 14 criticised Turkey's crackdown on alleged supporters of a failed military coup in July but Austria's call to suspend Ankara's EU membership bid failed to garner enough backing.

Islamic State claimed a series of suicide attacks that killed at least 14 people south and west of Baghdad on November 14 as a US-backed campaign to capture Mosul, the insurgents' last urban stronghold in Iraq, made slow progress.

President-elect Donald Trump is in for a quick wake-up call and will have to adjust his temperament when he confronts the realities of his new job on Jan. 20, President Barack Obama said on November 14.

President-elect Donald Trump on November 13 picked Reince Priebus, a Washington insider who heads the Republican National Committee, as White House chief of staff, signaling a willingness to work with Congress to advance his agenda when he takes office in January.

Indian banks received 3 trillion rupees (US$44.4 billion) of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes over the last four days, the Finance Ministry said on November 13, after the government announced it would withdraw such bills to crack down on corruption.