Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's meeting in the Korean Demilitarized Zone produced a barrage of headlines and images, but left analysts questioning whether it was a small step for publicity or a giant leap for peace.

The impromptu encounter saw Trump briefly crossing over the demarcation line -- becoming the first sitting U.S. president to step into Pyongyang's territory.

A father and daughter drowned in a tragic embrace. A mother begging hysterically for her son's release. Soldiers forcefully detaining a woman and her daughter at the border.

Global trade, geopolitical hotspots and even horse-trading over top EU jobs: G20 leaders have a lot of their plate when they meet from Friday in Osaka.

The shooting down last week of a sophisticated U.S. drone by an Iranian missile demonstrates that Tehran's air defence capabilities can pose a challenge to U.S. air superiority, experts say.

Donald Trump wants to be warlike and he wants to avoid war -- and late Thursday, with U.S. bombers poised to unleash explosive fury on Iran, those contradictory impulses came to a head.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have intensified ever since April when the US added Iran's Revolutionary Guards to its blacklist of "terrorist" organisations and strengthened sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi died on Monday after a court hearing in Cairo, nearly six years after his ouster by current leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

A deal between major powers and Tehran on Iran's nuclear programme has been weakened since Washington unilaterally withdrew a year ago.

On Monday Tehran said it will surpass the uranium stockpile limit set under the deal from June 27.

Tankers like those apparently attacked Thursday in the Gulf of Oman operate through increasingly treacherous waters, facing mounting dangers from piracy and collision as well as geopolitical hazards.

From US military deployments to alleged "threats" from Iran and attacks on oil tankers and installations, here is a timeline of escalating tensions in the Gulf: