US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton crushed rival Bernie Sanders at the South Carolina primary on February 27, propelling her into next week's crucial "Super Tuesday" voting in 11 states on a wave of momentum.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earned an emphatic vote of confidence and reformist partners secured surprise gains in parliament in early results from elections that could accelerate the Islamic Republic's emergence from years of isolation.

A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near the Afghan defense ministry in Kabul on February 27, causing heavy casualties just hours after an attack in the eastern province of Kunar killed 13 people and put prospects for new peace talks in doubt.

Islamic State militants launched an assault on a Kurdish-controlled town on Syria's border with Turkey on February 27, prompting air strikes by the US-led coalition to try to drive them back.

Greece moved to slow the flow of migrants from its islands to the mainland on February 26 as thousands of homeless refugees were trapped in the country by border limits imposed along a Balkan route to richer nations in northern Europe.

Iran started counting tens of millions of votes on February 27 after hotly contested elections that could see reformists speed up Tehran's opening to the world or long-dominant hardliners reassert the Islamic Republic's traditional anti-Westernism.

At least nine people were killed when fighters from Somali Islamist group al Shabaab set off a car bomb at the gate of a popular park and near a hotel in the capital, sending a plume of smoke above the coastal city.

Fighting appeared to stop across most areas of western Syria on February 27 after a landmark "cessation of hostilities" came into effect under a US-Russian plan which warring sides in the five-year conflict have accepted.

US President Barack Obama said on February 25 the United States would do everything it could to make a ceasefire in Syria succeed despite significant question marks over whether the agreement will hold.

British finance minister George Osborne is pushing the Group of 20 leading economies to warn about the dangers of Britain leaving the European Union, the Financial Times reported on February 25.