Twenty military officers are formally charged in Turkey with attempting to overthrow the government.

• 25 February 2010

India and Pakistan begin their first high-level talks since the attacks on Mumbai at the end of 2008, amid tensions over Kashmir.

• 25 February 2010

Vandals are thought to have opened the cisterns at an Italian oil refinery, allowing some 2.5 million liters of oil to flow into the Lambro River. Now the slick has reached Italy's most important river, the Po.

• 24 February 2010

The US has reached out to Syria in a bid to harness its influence and engage with problematic Middle East leaders. Renewed ties between the two countries bring cautious hope of breakthroughs on a number of issues.

• 24 February 2010

Argentina's regional allies have backed its claim to the Falkland Islands as a dispute with Britain over oil escalates. The UK has started to drill in waters off the islands, a move Argentina has formally objected to.

• 24 February 2010

China tightens controls on internet use, requiring anyone who wants to set up a website to meet regulators and produce ID documents.

• 23 February 2010

Western diplomats express deep concern at a decree by Afghan President Hamid Karzai giving him control of the election watchdog.

• 23 February 2010

European Union foreign ministers condemn the use of forged passports in the assassination of a top Palestinian militant.

• 22 February 2010