Angela Merkel may have won praise from the world for Germany's open-door policy on refugees, but a confused and divided Europe is feeling the fallout from the decision, analysts said.

The German chancellor's sudden move in early September to welcome asylum seekers from Syria opened bitter rifts in the EU and raised fears for the future of the passport-free Schengen zone.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, has a lot to lose if the global economy shifts to clean energy.

So at 195-nation U.N. talks in Paris aimed at forging a climate-saving accord that will slash greenhouse gas emissions, it is perhaps not surprising that Riyadh stands accused of playing the role of a spoiler.

Republicans struggled to deal with the fallout from Donald Trump's widely condemned remarks on Muslims Wednesday, worrying the controversial mogul could torpedo their 2016 White House hopes.

The party -- which hopes to end eight years of Democratic White House rule -- faces a stark choice between turning on their presidential frontrunner and tethering a 161-year-old brand to the whims of a billionaire many Americans see as a bigot.

It was meant to be a revolution, but now the wheels risk coming off "Chavism," the socialist movement that made Venezuela a beacon of leftist leadership at odds with the United States.

Two years after the death of its red-bereted founding father Hugo Chavez, his "Bolivarian revolution" has just suffered its biggest electoral blow yet.

After two grinding decades of combating Islamist terror, America is split asunder, divided not just on how to defeat the Islamic State, but on the magnitude of the threat the group poses.

Gone is the grief-fueled solidarity that flowed seamlessly in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Even if the Islamic State group is one day defeated on its territory, the world could face an even greater threat from tens of thousands of battle-hardened jihadist veterans, experts have warned.

U.S. intelligence services estimate some 30,000 people have joined the ranks of IS from around 100 countries, adding to the huge number that have fought with older Islamic extremist groups over the decades.  

An agreement towards ending strife-torn Libya's long political crisis has been hailed as a breakthrough but does not address key issues and will struggle to win approval, analysts and lawmakers say.

A deal to end years of political deadlock is seen as crucial to restoring stability in the oil-rich North African nation and to tackling the rising threat from the Islamic State jihadist group.

Government forces and rebels in Sudan's war-torn border regions say they are preparing for another bout of fighting after the latest talks in Addis Ababa failed to reach a deal.

The African Union-mediated talks ended last month without a temporary ceasefire being agreed in Darfur, mired in conflict since 2003, and South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where rebels have been battling since 2011.

With dust from the California massacre barely settled, the killings are sharpening the U.S. political divide over gun control and spurring attacks on President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism strategy.

As Obama prepared to address the nation on his plans to keep Americans safe and defeat IS, Republican foes lined up on the Sunday talk shows to attack his leadership.

Iraq's premier wants Washington's assistance against the Islamic State group, but American remarks about anti-jihadist efforts and Iran-allied organizations' strong opposition to U.S. combat troops put him in a bind.

Trying to navigate the political minefield, Haider al-Abadi has issued increasingly strident statements about foreign forces over the past week, most recently saying the deployment of such "ground combat forces (is) a hostile act."