Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the launch of a fourth and final line supplying electricity from Russia to Crimea on Wednesday, saying the project had broken an energy blockage he accused Kiev of imposing on the peninsula.

• May 11, 2016

Euro zone finance ministers offered on Monday to grant Greece debt relief by giving it longer grace periods and bond maturities from 2018 if the country delivers by then on all reforms agreed under its latest bailout.

• May 10, 2016

The euro zone turned its attention tentatively on Monday to helping Greece tackle its huge debt repayments, with a view to a deal on May 24, after Greek lawmakers passed unpopular pension and tax reforms one critic called "a tombstone for growth".

• May 9, 2016

Syria's opposition is hopeful of a return to peace talks in Geneva if a U.S.-Russian deal on reviving a failed truce is swiftly implemented, a member of the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Monday.

• May 9, 2016

The incoming Taiwanese government on Sunday accused China of "political interference" after a senior Chinese official cast doubt over the island keeping its observer status at the World Health Organisation if bilateral relations deteriorated further.

• May 8, 2016

Managing Saudi Arabia's new energy mega-ministry, set to oversee over half the economy and designed to cut through a tangled bureaucracy to make government more coherent and efficient, will be a formidable challenge.

• May 8, 2016

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday hailed the country's recent nuclear test and launch of a satellite into space, as he opened the first congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party in 36 years.

• May 6, 2016

The United States said on Wednesday it had agreed with Russia to extend a cessation of hostilities agreement to include Aleppo where intense day-long violence between Syrian rebels and government forces killed dozens of people.

• May 4, 2016