Palestinian factions said on Wednesday they agreed on the need to hold elections by the end of 2018 and praised the unity deal aimed at ending a long-running dispute between Fatah and Hamas.

After vetoing the renewal of a UN-led probe into chemical attacks in Syria, Russia on Wednesday said it was open to establishing a new panel to investigate the use of toxic gases in the six-year war.

Zimbabwe's incoming president Emmerson Mnangagwa told adoring crowds in Harare on Wednesday that they were witnessing "unfolding full democracy" as he returned to take power after Robert Mugabe stepped down after 37 years in power.

 President Vladimir Putin discussed Syria on Tuesday with his US counterpart Donald Trump, with both speaking of the need for progress toward a peace settlement following the Russian leader's surprise summit with Bashar al-Assad.

Britain made "grave strategic errors" in its handling of the Franco-Chinese Hinkley Point nuclear project, a critical parliamentary report concluded on Wednesday.

China's former internet czar, who oversaw a tightening of online censorship during his tenure, has become the latest top Communist Party figure to be ensnared in the country's anti-corruption drive.

The United States on Tuesday unveiled new sanctions targeting North Korean shipping and Chinese traders doing business with Pyongyang, again raising the pressure on the pariah state to abandon its nuclear program.

 Robert Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe's president on Tuesday, finally swept from power as his 37-year reign of autocratic control and brutality crumbled within days of a military takeover.

Germany's president was to lead a push from Tuesday to save the EU's top economy from the political turmoil sparked by the collapse of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition talks.