Iran emerged from years of economic isolation on January 16 when world powers lifted crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

International sanctions on Iran will be lifted on January 16 when the International Atomic Energy Agency issues its final report on Tehran's disputed nuclear program, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying.

An IAEA report verifying that Iran has kept its promises under last year's nuclear deal with world powers and triggering sanctions relief for Tehran is likely to be issued on January 16, a diplomatic source said on January 15.

At least 20 people died and others were taken hostage when Islamist gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital city of Burkina Faso on  February 15, a hospital director told Reuters, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bodies of nine people, some of whom may have drowned up to 10 days earlier, were found on Turkey's western coast this week as the flow of Europe-bound migrants persisted despite rough winter weather and the efforts of the Turkish government.

The Philippines has asked the United States to hold joint naval patrols, a defense ministry spokesman said on January 14, amid a territorial dispute with China in the East Sea.

Liberia was declared free of the Ebola virus by global health experts on January 14, a milestone that signalled an end to an epidemic in West Africa that has killed more than 11,300 people.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the heart of Indonesia's capital on January 14 and the assault was claimed by Islamic State, the first time the radical group has targeted the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Several explosions went off and gunfire broke out in the center of the Indonesian capital on January 14 and police said they suspected a suicide bomber was responsible for at least one the blasts.

Iran freed 10 U.S. sailors on January 13, a day after detaining them aboard two U.S. Navy patrol boats in the Gulf, bringing a swift end to an incident that had rattled nerves just before the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord.