The Group of Seven industrial powers pledged on May 27 to seek strong global growth, while papering over differences on currencies and stimulus policies and expressing concern over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russia and maritime disputes involving China.

There will be no new round of Syria talks for at least two or three weeks, the office of UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in a statement on May 26, after he consulted the UN Security Council for about two and a half hours.

Egypt has asked European firms to help search for the black boxes of an EgyptAir plane that crashed on May 19 in deep water in the Mediterranean Sea, the airline's chairman and French diplomatic sources said on May 25.

Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe was set to escort Group of Seven (G7) leaders to the Shinto religion's holiest site on May 26 ahead of a summit that will cover topics from risks to the global economy to China's maritime assertiveness.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on May 25 voiced concern about reports of rising political tension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to uncertainty about a presidential election scheduled to take place later this year.

European Council President Donald Tusk said on May 26 he would like the global community to show solidarity regarding the refugee crisis and recognize it is a global problem.

A US-backed alliance of Syrian militias launched a new offensive against Islamic State fighters near their de facto capital of Raqqa city on May 24, a monitoring group and an official said.

A suicide car bombing claimed by Islamic State killed at least 40 Yemeni army recruits and wounded 60 in the southern city of Aden on May 23, medics said, in one of the deadliest attacks yet on government interests.

Global leaders met in Istanbul on May 23 to tackle a "broken" humanitarian system that has left 130 million people in need of aid, a near insurmountable task for a two-day summit that critics say risks achieving little.

Iraqi government forces fought Islamic State militants near Falluja on May 23 and bombarded central districts at the outset of an offensive to retake the longtime jihadist stronghold on the western approaches to the capital Baghdad.