Italy could have an election as early as February, a minister in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's outgoing government said on Tuesday, speaking after talking to Renzi. The comments will add to growing support for a quick vote as the only way to avoid protracted political limbo in Italy following Sunday's "No" vote on Renzi's constitutional reforms.

Syrian regime forces were on the verge Tuesday of seizing a major rebel district of Aleppo as Moscow and Washington traded barbs over stalled efforts to end fighting in the battle-worn city.

The death toll from a northern Chinese coal mine disaster rose to 32 on Sunday, state media reported, the latest accident in a country that has a poor record of industrial safety.

The candidate vying to become Europe's first freely elected far-right head of state since World War Two conceded defeat in Austria's presidential election soon after polls closed on Sunday evening.

Italians started to vote on Sunday in a referendum on constitutional reform which will decide the political future of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has promised to resign if he loses.

Ukraine's military said its two-day missile drill starting on Thursday would avoid the airspace over Crimea, sidestepping a possible confrontation with Russia which annexed the peninsula in 2014. News of the tests had angered the Kremlin, prompting it to put its air defense forces on high alert and maneuver warships in the Black Sea.

Elite Syrian troops moved into east Aleppo Thursday ahead of a push into the most densely populated areas, as regime ally Russia called for corridors to bring in aid and evacuate wounded. Despite global criticism including the UN warning Aleppo risked becoming a "giant graveyard", government forces have pressed an assault to retake control of the divided city. The offensive -- backed by artillery -- has spurred an exodus of tens of thousands of residents from the rebel-held east.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Thursday for a fresh start in relations with the United States under Donald Trump and fired a parting shot at outgoing President Barack Obama.

A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a US military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two US defense officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as "unsafe and unprofessional". The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election on November 8.

The UN has condemned the "descent into hell" being endured by civilians in Aleppo, with the Red Cross saying nearly 20,000 people have fled a Syrian government offensive on the city in three days.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry flew on Tuesday to the United States (US) in a visit that will last for several days. During the visit, Shoukry is expected to meet with US secretary of state John Kerry, a number of congressmen, and several government officials to discuss ways of enhancing bilateral relations among other issues.

The United Nations said on Tuesday there were indications that poorer families in Mosul are struggling to feed themselves as food prices increase following the U.S.-backed offensive on the IS group-held city in northern Iraq.

Hundreds of members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement are gathering in the West Bank for a special leadership conference that is expected to cement the rule of the longtime leader.

The United Nations' humanitarian chief says initial reports indicate some 16,000 people have been displaced following Syrian government advances on rebel-held Aleppo districts.

Iraqi special forces battling to clear Islamic State group from eastern Mosul have killed nearly 1,000 militants but fighting has slowed as troops face a mobile enemy hidden among thousands of civilians in the city, a top commander said.

Several public transport buses stayed off the streets in Khartoum and many shops shut Sunday in a mixed response to opposition calls for a nationwide strike against fuel subsidy cuts.

Islamic State militants have fired a rocket in northern Syria that caused symptoms of "chemical gas" exposure in 22 Syrian rebels, state media cited Turkey's military as saying on Sunday.

Tunisia will host 2,000 business and finance executives from 40 countries this week in hopes of drumming up investment to boost its struggling economy.

The UN envoy for Yemen announced a new bid for peace talks between the government and rebels, after the latest ceasefire failed to bring an end the 20-month conflict.

Two mass graves of at least 18 members of Iraq's Yazidi minority, thousands of whom have been killed and kidnapped by Islamic State group, have been discovered as security forces fight to dislodge the militants from Mosul, a local official said.