Iran's parliament votes to dismiss Science Minister Reza Faraji-Dana, dealing a blow to reformist President Hassan Rouhani.

Russia's main consumer watchdog has shut a number of McDonald's restaurants in Moscow as part of an investigation into food standards.

The UN says it has begun its largest aid operation for a decade as it attempts to reach half a million people in northern Iraq.

The Islamic State militant group releases a video online purporting to show the killing of US journalist James Foley.

The US Attorney General is due to arrive in Ferguson, Missouri, the scene of continuing protests over the police shooting of a black teenager.

The US, UK and France voice abhorrence at the apparent beheading of American journalist James Foley by an Islamic State (IS) militant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows a continued campaign against Gaza militants, amid renewed fighting between the two sides.

The police killing of a second black St Louis-area man threatens to further enflame tensions, ten days after the killing of Michael Brown, 18.