Lithuania joined the euro zone at the stroke of midnight on Thursday, hoping to anchor itself in Europe as its former master Russia flexes its military muscle in the region.

• January 2, 2015

In a move that heightened tensions with Israel and could lead to cuts in U.S. aid, the Palestinians on Friday delivered to U.N. headquarters documents on joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties.

• January 2, 2015

Foreign automakers in China may struggle to dictate sales goals in the future after dealers complained to the government that inflexible targets set during a market boom obliged them to buy too much stock and bear the brunt of a drop in demand

• December 30, 2014

A wave of risk aversion swept through global markets on Tuesday, with light volume magnifying moves, as end-of-year trades focused on worries about Greece's future in the euro zone, pushing shares lower and lifting the safe-haven yen, silver and gold.

• December 30, 2014

A Russian court gave Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a suspended sentence on Tuesday for embezzling money but jailed his brother for three and a half years in a case seen as part of a campaign to stifle dissent.

• December 30, 2014

Ukraine's President said on Monday he would meet the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on Jan. 15 in an attempt to restore peace to Kiev's eastern territories and acknowledged Kiev lacked the resources to regain control by military means.

• December 29, 2014

Russia's economy shrank sharply in November and the rouble resumed its slide on Monday as Western sanctions and a slump in oil prices combined to inflict the first contraction in GDP since the global financial crisis.

• December 29, 2014

Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday, with Brent and U.S. crude hitting their lowest levels since May 2009, reversing early gains on selling by investors convinced that supply disruptions in Libya would not offset a global supply glut.

• December 29, 2014