MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The number of unsolved crimes in Mexico rose in 2015, with 93.7 percent of all infractions going unreported or uninvestigated, in a fresh blow to government efforts to stem years of drug violence and restore law and order.

By Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday he is hopeful for improved relations with the United States, a day after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Maduro met Kerry in Colombia's coastal city of Cartagena after the signing of a major peace deal between leftist guerrillas and the Colombian government.

By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will speed up deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system to South Korea given the pace of North Korea's missile tests, and it will be stationed there "as soon as possible," the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said on Tuesday.

NICE, France (Reuters) - Planned attacks on sporting events, schools and religious sites on the French Riviera have been foiled since the killings of 86 people on Nice's seaside promenade in July, the city's prosecutor has said. "Several cases have been passed on to the anti-terrorism prosecutor in Paris.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Former Israeli president and elder statesman Shimon Peres died in Tel Aviv on Wednesday aged 93, Israel Radio said. Peres was hospitalized following a stroke two weeks ago and had made some progress before a sudden deterioration in his condition on Tuesday.

By Tommy Wilkes and Drazen Jorgic NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Tensions between India and Pakistan rose on Tuesday as India's leader canceled a visit to a regional summit and Islamabad warned it would treat it as "an act of war" if India revoked a water treaty.

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif faces a key choice in the coming weeks about who should run Pakistan's powerful military, one that will have a major influence on the country's often strained relationships with the United States and nuclear rival India.

By Douglas Busvine and Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Simmering anger over India's crackdown on 10 weeks of protests in Kashmir risks drawing more young people to radical rebellion, demonstrators and security officials warn, as the sense of despair and alienation from New Delhi deepens.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two decisions by Vietnamese courts sentencing a land rights activist to jail and upholding prison terms for two political bloggers are a concern for the United States, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling Intuitional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, voted on Monday to suspend a controversial governor's party membership in a bid to root out widespread perceptions of corruption among its ranks.