Afghanistan's Taliban has announced the start of their spring offensive, promising to target military assaults on U.S.-led coalition and Afghan security forces.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has called on the Security Council to apply "all pressure" on Russia to use its influence to end the war in Syria and to help ease the worsening humanitarian crisis there.
Turkish media say a Russian warship has collided with a cargo ship in the Black Sea off Istanbul.
An Israeli missile strike has caused a huge blast at a "military position" near Damascus international airport, Syrian state media report.
The U.S. State Department has expressed "deep concerns" about Turkish air strikes against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria and northern Iraq, saying the strikes were not approved by the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) extremists.
Turkey says its warplanes bombed Kurdish militants in Iraq's Sinjar region and in northeastern Syria on April 25.