The White House is rethinking its opposition to arming Syrian rebels, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said at a news conference with British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond on May 2, AP reported.

Three British soldiers were killed April 30 in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device hit their vehicle, the British Ministry of Defense said May 1, Reuters reported.

Diplomats from 11 countries met in Istanbul on April 20 to discuss the Syrian crisis, Xinhua reported.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on April 8 set out for a series of meetings with European leaders, centered around promoting Cameron's ideas for a more flexible Europe, Xinhua reported.

Iran met with officials from Russia, China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany on April 6 for a second day of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, AFP reported.

The British warplanes recently spotted in the Nigerian capital of Abuja were helping to move soldiers participating in the French intervention in Mali, rather than trying to rescue hostages as Nigerian-based Islamist group Ansaru claimed, the British military said March 10, AP reported.

Nigeria-based Islamist group Ansaru killed seven foreign hostages March 9, SITE Monitoring Service said, Reuters reported.