Donald Trump's groundbreaking meeting with Kim Jong Un, the hereditary leader of a dynastic dictatorship, was heralded by the main players as a breakthrough that will bring about major change, but left others wondering: What now? 

Donald Trump hailed his meeting with Kim Jong Un as the start of a process that would rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

After giving up on getting help from Syrian Kurdish authorities, Ahmed Saleh relied on relatives abroad to repair his home in Kobane after it was heavily damaged in a battle against jihadists.

Libya, where rival authorities in Tripoli and the east are vying for power, fell into chaos after the ouster of strongman Moamer Kadhafi in October 2011.

Russia's recent call for foreign forces to leave Syria was seen as a possible turning-point in its tricky alliance with Iran, though analysts say their partnership still has a long way to run.

Here is a look over major events in the turbulent presidency of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, in power since 2013 and vying for re-election on Sunday.

- Takes over from Chavez -In March 2013 Hugo Chavez -- Venezuela's leader since 1999 and initiator of its socialist-inspired "Bolivarian revolution" -- dies of cancer.

The modern Middle East has been plagued by ruinous wars: country versus country, civil wars with internecine and sectarian bloodletting, and numerous eruptions centered on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But never in the last 70 years have they seemed as interconnected as now with Iran and Saudi Arabia vying for regional control, while Israel also seeks to maintain a military supremacy of its own.

By some counts the most popular figure in Iran, Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani is also one of the most powerful in the region and seen as a deadly adversary by the U.S. and its allies.

The small central African state of Burundi has been mired in a bloody crisis since 2015 over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to cling to power, the unrest claiming 1,200 lives. 

Here are key developments since U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, with the new U.S. embassy opening Monday amid deadly clashes.