An Islamic State suicide bomber who killed 10 German tourists in the heart of Istanbul's historic district entered Turkey as a refugee from Syria and went undetected as he was not on any watch lists, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on January 13.

Defence officials from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and China will meet on January 15 to discuss the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) latest nuclear test, the Yonhap news agency reported, after the RoK and the United States put pressure on China to rein in its neighbor.

President Obama wrapped up his final State of the Union address with a forceful statement of confidence in the future of the United States.

The US House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously on January 12 to pass legislation that would broaden sanctions over Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear program, days after Pyongyang announced it had tested a powerful nuclear device.

Iran detained 10 US sailors aboard two US Navy boats in the Gulf on January 12 in an incident that rattled nerves days ahead of the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord with Tehran.

President Barack Obama on January 12 urged US leaders to "fix our politics" and lift Americans' standard of living in a final State of the Union speech designed to contrast his vision for the country with Republican presidential campaign rhetoric.

A suicide bomber thought to have crossed recently from Syria killed at least 10 people, most of them German tourists, in Istanbul's historic heart on January 12, in an attack Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed on Islamic State.

UN and relief agency workers saw starving people in two besieged Syrian areas where aid deliveries were made on January 11, a senior UN official said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Syria needs to start working on a new constitution as a first step to finding a political solution to its civil war, though he acknowledged the process was likely to be difficult.

Gunmen detonated suicide vests inside a shopping complex in Baghdad on January 11 and a car bomb exploded nearby in an attack claimed by Islamic State that killed at least 18 people and wounded 40 others.