An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean on May 19 in a crash that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack.

NATO agreed on May 19 to broaden its operations in the Mediterranean to help the European Union stop criminals trafficking refugees from North Africa but will not act until the fate of rescued migrants is cleared up.

National carrier EgyptAir said a plane carrying 69 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo had gone missing on May 19, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea.

US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on May 18 with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about the war in Syria and efforts to defeat Islamic State militants, the White House said in a statement.

Nine Iraqi soldiers were killed and nine more wounded on May 18 when a house rigged with explosives blew up south of Baghdad during a raid of suspected Islamic State militants, two army sources said.

The United States eased some sanctions on Myanmar on May 17 to support ongoing political reforms, but maintained most of its economic restrictions in an effort to punish those Washington sees as hampering the country's newly elected government.

Major power foreign ministers failed to agree a new date to resume Syrian peace talks at a meeting on May 17, and the opposition said it would not come back to Geneva negotiations unless conditions improved on the ground.

Groundwork is being laid for a resumption of peace talks between the Philippine government and Maoist rebels, an aide to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte and a negotiator said on May 17, as a renewed push to end the conflict gathered pace.

At least 77 people were killed and more than 140 wounded by three bombings in Baghdad on May 17, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year and driving Shi'ite fighters into the streets to defend some areas.

Cuba and the United States aim to reach new agreements on cooperation in law enforcement, health and agriculture over the coming months, a senior Cuban official said on May 16, as part of the former Cold War foes' drive to normalize ties.