The failed coup attempt in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's firm crackdown on the alleged plotters have aggravated ties between Washington and Ankara, already poisoned by the war in Syria and human rights issues.

Although they are NATO allies and officially partners in the fight against the Islamic State group, the United States and Turkey have seen their relations take an icy turn in recent months.

When President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drawn face was seen on television appealing to supporters through a humble mobile phone app, some may have thought the game was up for the Turkish strongman.

But his backers flooded the streets of Istanbul and Ankara in response to his desperate appeal on FaceTime to counter the botched military coup that represented the biggest threat to his 13-year domination of the country.

Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the coup attempt in Turkey, has a wide following in his native country, where he enjoys support among the police and judiciary.

The reclusive Islamic preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono Mountains of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, was immediately accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind the coup attempt.

In striking the jewel of the French Riviera on a national holiday the truck attack on Nice delivered a new blow to France's tourism sector already reeling from repeated terror attacks.

A gunman drove a 19-tonne truck into a crowd of revelers following Bastille Day fireworks Thursday evening, killing at least 84 people -- in what President Francois Hollande declared a "terrorist" attack.

The living held their hands. They knew they were dead, but they would not let them go.

A year ago, a landmark nuclear deal with world powers led jubilant Iranians to dream of an end to isolation and economic hardship, but critics say US obstacles have soured those hopes.

"Economic giant, political dwarf" -- that is how the world long viewed post-World War II Germany, the European export power reluctant to use military muscle in global conflicts.

Tony Blair rode a wave of "Cool Britannia" optimism in his first heady years in office but is now reviled by many Britons who accuse him of leading the country into an unnecessary war in Iraq that shattered his legacy.

Three years ago the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was ousted, only a year after becoming Egypt's first freely elected president after the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Here are 10 key dates since his ouster:

Israel was a longtime regional ally of Turkey until its 2010 commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla left 10 Turkish activists dead.