The use of the death penalty is declining: more than two-thirds of countries have abolished or ceased to use it and executions continued to decrease in 2017, Amnesty International says. 

Yemen, an impoverished country on the Arabian peninsula, has been mired in a deadly conflict between troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Shiite Huthi rebels since 2014.

The Taliban announced Tuesday the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former CIA asset whose eponymous militant group is now considered one of the most dangerous factions fighting Afghan and US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is clinging to power but finds himself under attack from all sides -- conservatives, reformists and the street -- as he prepares for a grilling in parliament on Tuesday.

Iran's legal challenge against renewed sanctions by the United States goes before the UN's International Court of Justice on Monday. 

A prime minister failing to see out his full term should be a rarity, but in Australia it's become the norm, with a culture of parliamentary back-stabbing that has driven disaffected voters into the arms of fringe parties.

Key developments since the United States quit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal three months ago and reimposed sanctions:

- US walks away -Donald Trump pulls the United States out of the landmark nuclear pact between world powers and Iran on May 8, reinstating Washington's sanctions on Iran and companies with ties to the Islamic republic.

Pakistan's new government led by prime minister Imran Khan faces myriad challenges. The cricketing icon turned politician will have to make hard choices, and quickly.

Russia typically brushes off new U.S. sanctions. Not this time.

The Trump administration announcement of export restrictions in response to accusations Moscow used a nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy in Britain sent the ruble tumbling to a two-year low and drew a stern warning from its prime minister. While the initial sanctions may have a limited impact, a second batch expected within months could hit the Russian economy much harder and send already tense relations into a tailspin.

Relations between Turkey and the United States are at their lowest ebb in recent times, with President Donald Trump announcing Friday he had doubled steel and aluminum tariffs against the NATO ally, adding to the Turkish lira's downward spiral.