The European Union on December 1 agreed to impose fresh sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

The Syrian government on December 1 suspended its membership in the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM) as well as the Syrian-Turkish free trade agreement, in retaliation to new sanctions of the European Union (EU) and Turkey.

President Thein Sein has welcomed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying her visit is “historic” and represents a new chapter in relations between the two countries.

Britain shut Iran's embassy in London and expelled its entire staff on November 30, saying the storming of the British mission in Tehran could not have taken place without consent from Iranian authorities.

A United Nations report released on November 30 says the world has made "extraordinary" achievements in the past year at combating HIV, but that greater efforts are still needed to end the global epidemic.

Britain shut Iran's embassy in London and expelled all its staff on November 30, saying the storming of the British mission in Tehran could not have taken place without consent from Iranian authorities.

Police arrested more than 200 Occupy LA protesters during a midnight eviction of their encampment in a City Hall park.

Egyptians have completed the first round of voting in the first parliamentary elections since a popular uprising forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign last February.

A plane carrying former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, arrived at Rotterdam airport on November 30.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned Iran of "serious consequences" after protesters stormed the British embassy and a UK compound in Tehran.