Xbox and PlayStation online services have been suffering technical problems, amid claims a hacking group has disabled their services.

A Turkish teenager arrested on Wednesday for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been released but still faces trial.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi tells the BBC the world is too optimistic about reform in the country, saying more is needed to achieve democracy.

Syrian aircraft drop barrel bombs on Islamic State-held areas in the north-east, killing some 40 people, activists say.

Egypt bans a Hollywood film based on the Biblical book of Exodus, citing what it calls "historical inaccuracies".

Ivory Coast's ex-first lady, Simone Gbagbo, goes on trial for her alleged role in post-election violence which killed thousands five years ago.

The Russian military promotes the use of conventional, non-nuclear forces as a deterrent in its new doctrine, in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine exchange scores of prisoners with the Ukrainian government near the rebel-held city of Donetsk.