US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on May 12 to discuss Ukraine and other issues, the United States said on May 11 in a statement that made no mention of their deep disagreements.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 10 that the peace process in eastern Ukraine was progressing despite difficulties.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on May 10 ruled out giving Scotland another independence referendum despite spectacular gains by Scottish nationalists in a UK-wide election, saying Scots had "emphatically" rejected a breakaway only last year.

An Airbus (AIR.PA) A400M military transport plane crashed outside Seville on May 9, killing four test crew and prompting Britain and Germany to ground Europe's new troop and cargo carrier.

British Prime Minister David Cameron swept to a stunning election victory on May 8, confounding forecasts that the vote would be the closest in decades and winning a clear majority that left his Labour opponents in tatters.

A Pakistan military helicopter taking diplomats to inspect development projects crashed on Friday killing seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, the army said.

The United States has begun a long-awaited program to train Syrian fighters to go into combat against Islamic State, the Pentagon said on May 7, deepening America's role in Syria's civil war after eight months of airstrikes against the Sunni militants.

The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on May 7 to pass a bill giving Congress the right to review, and potentially reject, an international agreement with Iran aimed at keeping it from developing nuclear weapons.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives are on course to win the most seats after the national election, an exit poll says, but not an outright majority. 

Philippine and Japanese coast guard teams staged an anti-piracy drill on May 6, featuring the storming of a cargo vessel after a mock hijack, in a show of maritime cooperation between the two nations amid rising tension in Asian waters.