When the clock ticks down on Barack Obama's presidency, five years will have passed since he officially pulled U.S. combat forces from Iraq.

But little by little, American troops are returning -- thanks to the Islamic State group and their hold over parts of the region.

U.S. President Barack Obama hailed Chancellor Angela Merkel on a visit to Germany as being on the "right side of history" with her welcoming refugee policy, but critics on Monday slammed his praise as hollow lip service.

Speaking in the northern German city of Hanover, Obama said the embattled Merkel had "demonstrated real political and moral leadership" in letting in more than 1.1 million people fleeing war and misery.

Saudi Arabia's hard-charging Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds unusual power for a man of just 30, so much so that diplomats have nicknamed him "Mr. Everything".

The key figure behind Monday's unveiling of a vast plan to restructure the kingdom's oil-dependent economy, the son of King Salman has risen to among Saudi Arabia's most influential figures since being named second-in-line to the throne last year.

Equatorial Guinea's tough President Teodoro Obiang Nguema seized power almost 37 years ago from a feared and ruthless uncle and has steered the tiny but now oil-rich nation with an iron glove.

Looking out from the Syrian capital these days, one can understand why President Bashar Assad would be in no hurry to make concessions at peace talks in Geneva, let alone consider stepping down as the opposition demands.

In Damascus, it is easy to forget the war. The airstrikes, the ruins and starvation, sometimes only few miles away, seem distant and unseen. Since a partial cease-fire went into effect at the end of February, the mortar shells from opposition-held suburbs have all but stopped.

In a country awash with guns, a faltering peace deal aimed at ending over two years of intense civil war in South Sudan came down to a dispute over just two dozen weapons.

The issue, while apparently minor, reflects the huge mistrust between the rival leaders, and is a sign of the massive challenges faced when -- or if -- rebel chief Riek Machar finally returns to the city and forges a unity government.

As the world prepares to mark the Armenian genocide, filmmakers and musicians are attempting to raise awareness among an American public largely ignorant of one of modern history's darkest episodes.

It is 101 years on Sunday since Turkey's Ottoman government began arresting minority community leaders and setting in motion a campaign of systematic slaughter that had left 1.5 million Christian Armenians dead by the early 1920s.

A year after an earthquake flattened her home in Nepal, Menuka Rokaya still lives in a tent with her husband and nine-month-old baby as they await even a sliver of a $4 billion aid fund.

"We have lived like this with a baby through monsoon and winter," says Rokya, one of an estimated four million people who are still homeless.

In a leafy field in Syria, fighters in beige fatigues negotiate an obstacle course as they are trained to defend a Kurdish federal region across the country's north.

Clutching rifles under a bright spring sun, the men are among thousands undergoing obligatory nine-month training to join the Autonomous Protection Forces.

Iran may technically be open to foreign investors after a nuclear deal with Western powers, but many sanctions remain, deterring potential business partners who fear the U.S. could hit them again with punishing fines.