4. Kerry says 'driving towards finish' on Iran nuke deal

US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed Wednesday he was "driving towards the finish" to secure what would be a historic deal with Iran over its nuclear programme as a November 24 deadline looms.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Kerry said there was "no intention at this point of talking about an extension" as ministers stepped up shuttle diplomacy ahead of the deadline.

"We are not contemplating an extension," stressed Kerry, ahead of what are likely to be crunch talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and outgoing EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Muscat on November 9-10.

The meeting in Oman comes amid recognition that serious gaps still remain between global powers grouped under the so-called P5+1 powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany – and Iran.

Kerry has previously warned that the coming weeks will finally reveal whether the Islamic Republic is truly prepared to make the tough decisions needed to curb its suspect nuclear programme and win a lifting of international sanctions.

5. Obama's marathon Putin Ukraine call: candid, direct but no meeting of minds

New details have begun to emerge of the extraordinary 90-minute phone call between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin on Saturday night, during which the US president warned his Russian counterpart that Moscow could face “serious repercussions” unless it halted military operations in Ukraine.

The call, made at Obama’s initiation and carried out from the telephone at his desk in the Oval Office, was described by one US government official as “candid and direct”.

Read-outs from the call distributed by the White House and the Kremlin demonstrated how far apart the two leaders remained on key issues.

Obama told Putin that his actions were a “clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law”, according to the US. The Kremlin statement said Putin told Obama, bluntly, that the US-backed interim Ukraine administration was threatening “the lives and health of Russian citizens and the many compatriots” in Crimea.

Obama urged Putin to instead pursue “direct engagement with the government of Ukraine” and support the “dispatch of international observers under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)”, the White House said.

The Russian leader’s response was blunt, according to Moscow. “In the case of any further spread of violence to eastern Ukraine and Crimea,” Putin’s office said he had warned, “Russia retains the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population of those areas.”

“I don’t ever remember a call with Putin that long before,” said Michael McFaul, who served as the president’s ambassador to Moscow until earlier this year.

6. Syria peacekeeping contingency plan mulled at un

The UN is making contingency plans for a peacekeeping force in Syria in the event of a ceasefire there. The UN has called for a truce for the festival of Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday. A UN monitoring mission operated in Syria earlier year, as part of a failed UN-Arab League peace plan, but withdrew after it became too dangerous. The UN Security Council, which is deeply divided on Syria, would have to approve any peacekeeping force. Western and Arab countries have pushed for UN action on Syria, but their resolutions have been vetoed by Russia and China. The head of UN peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, said his department was considering options in the event of a ceasefire or political deal in Syria.

In April, a UN observer mission deployed to Syria to monitor a shaky ceasefire, part of the peace plan put forward by international envoy Kofi Annan. However, the monitors' presence failed to halt the violence. They were prevented from travelling freely and were fired on in some locations. They suspended patrols in June. Two months later, the UN Security Council decided not to extend their mandate.