Bloomberg Cold War foes Russia and Pakistan are set to hold their first joint military drills on land, a sign that neighbouring Afghanistan may avoid becoming the site of another proxy war between global powers. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in need of cash, is seeking to shift away from his country’s decades-old relationship with India—which is also buying more weapons …

Istanbul / AFP Two suspected people smugglers went on trial in Turkey on Thursday charged with causing the death in September of a Syrian toddler the picture of whose lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach shocked the world. The trial of Syrian nationals Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad opened at the criminal court in the western Turkish resort …

Bloomberg USA policy toward Syria was driven by President Barack Obama’s fear of getting entangled in another middle eastern country, outgoing French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in an interview with RTL Radio. USA decision not to punish Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013 was read by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a sign that he …