Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan announce the "normalisation" of ties between the two countries, damaged by Ankara downing one of Moscow's warplanes in 2015.
Germany's foreign ministry calls in Turkey's ambassador to protest Ankara's provisional detention of a German journalist on terrorism-related charges. Deniz Yucel had been held since February 18 in connection with news reports on an attack by hackers against the email account of Turkey's energy minister.
Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine meet on the fringe of the Munich Security Conference. French FM Jean-Marc Ayrault insists there is "no alternative" to the Minsk ceasefire accords.
EU leaders meeting in Malta on Friday will face the challenge of how to work with a chaotic Libya and reluctant sub-Saharan African countries to prevent a feared upsurge of migrant smuggling to Europe.VIDEOGRAPHIC
Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson is sworn in to take charge of a US State Department simmering with opposition to President Donald Trump's refugee ban.
More than one million people have signed a petition demanding Britain cancel plans for a state visit by US President Donald Trump following his ban on travellers from mainly Muslim countries.
African leaders arrive at the African Union headquarters for a summit that has exposed regional divisions as they mull whether to allow Morocco to rejoin the bloc, and vote for a new chairperson. IMAGES
US President Donald Trump signs a decree entitled: "Protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States", at a ceremony at the Pentagon to swear in James Mattis as his secretary of defense.
As the Syrian government and opposition members prepare to meet in Astana for peace talks, some residents of Idlib say they have little hope that a solution will be found to end the conflict.
President Hassan Rouhani said there was no chance of Iran renegotiating the nuclear deal with world powers if US President-elect Donald Trump demands it.VIDEOGRAPHIC
Outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a stark warning of the dangers of economic populism, insisting on the greater benefits of global trade and cooperation: "Europe has to believe in itself" he says.
Outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine to support the war-scarred country's leaders amid concerns that ties could chill under Donald Trump.
