Lawyers

• UK vetoes UN initiative protecting school children from war

  Britain hasn’t signed the “safe school declaration” campaign, which was requested by the Unicef to protect children from war.

• Russia to propose Syrians launch 18-month reform process - document

  Russia wants the Syrian government and opposition to agree on launching a constitutional reform process of up to 18 months, followed by early presidential elections, a draft document obtained by Reuters showed on Tuesday.

• Investigators '90 percent sure' bomb downed Russian plane

  Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are "90 percent sure" the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team told Reuters on Sunday.

• Bomb by Islamic State likely caused Russian plane crash: security sources

  Evidence now suggests that a bomb planted by the Islamic State militant group is the likely cause of last weekend's crash of a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai peninsula, U.S. and European security sources said on Wednesday.

• Britain says Iran sanctions could be lifted next spring

  British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Monday he expected sanctions on Iran could start to be lifted as early as Spring next year.

• Britain reopens embassy in Iran ransacked in 2011

  Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran on Sunday, a striking signal of how Western ties with Iran have thawed since protesters ransacked the ambassador's residence and burned the Union Jack nearly four years ago.

• Britain calls for freedom of navigation in South China Sea

  Britain's top diplomat called for freedom of navigation and overflights in the disputed South China Sea on Wednesday but stopped short of criticizing China, whose assertive territorial claims have unnerved some of its neighbors and the United States.

• Hammond: African migrant surge imperils EU social infrastructure

  A surge in migrants from Africa threatens the European Union's living standards and social infrastructure, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday, saying the bloc was unable to take in millions of people seeking a new life.

• Britain says not optimistic about Iran nuclear deal by deadline

  British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday he was not optimistic that world powers and Iran would clinch a full nuclear deal by Nov. 24 but that there may be a way of extending the self-imposed deadline.