Chechen president says ban, which extends to EU leaders Barroso, Van Rompuy and Ashton, is response to US and EU 'state terrorism.' Although Russia has not responded to US sanctions over the Ukraine crisis by putting a travel ban on President Barack Obama, there is one part of the country he is now barred from entering: Chechnya. [...]

Secretary of state to appear before oversight committee as Republicans seek to pressure presumed 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton. Republican efforts to maintain pressure on Hillary Clinton over her response to the killing of the US ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi received another boost on Friday as John Kerry, Clinton's successor at the State Department, agreed to testify at a new [...]

Kiev calls for UN peacekeepers in east Ukraine and protesters ask Vladimir Putin for help after surrender deadline passes. Pro-Russian separatists occupying the regional government building in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk have vowed to take control of strategic infrastructure across the province they have declared an independent "people's republic". [...]

Belbek commander reportedly taken away by Russian troops as Obama hopes to increase Russia's isolation on upcoming Europe trip. The White House on Saturday responded cautiously to the news that Russian troops had forced their way into a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea. [...]

White House suggests executive order might not be the end of measures taken in response to events in Ukraine. President Barack Obama has extended financial sanctions against Russia to include wealthy supporters of Vladimir Putin and a bank said to be close to the Kremlin, in a bid to deter further aggression against Ukraine. [...]

Washington threatens further action against Russia if Vladimir Putin uses poll to legitimise military occupation, says Kiev envoy. America's ambassador in Kiev said the US would refuse to recognise next Sunday's "so-called referendum" in Crimea, and said Washington would take further steps against Russia if it used the poll to legitimise its occupation. [...]

Brazil, China and Venezuela sharply critical of 'illegal' programme but US says it has taken steps to introduce new guidelines. The US government has defended its use of drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries in front of the UN, telling a chamber full of largely critical nations that in President Obama's view the deployment of unmanned aerial attacks [...]

John Kerry has 'substantive' talks with foreign minister as hopes grow for a timetable to end bitter stalemate. Iran and the US held their first substantive high-level meeting since the 1979 Islamic revolution on Thursday night at multilateral talks hailed on both sides as a fresh start for nuclear negotiations, raising hopes of a solution to the long running stalemate. [...]

Dilma Rousseff's scathing speech to UN general assembly the most serious diplomatic fallout over revelations of US spying. She launched a blistering attack on US espionage at the UN general assembly, accusing the NSA of violating international law by its indiscriminate collection of personal information of Brazilian citizens and economic espionage targeted on the country's strategic industries. [...]