Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy Nokia's mobile phone business for 5.4bn euros ($7.2bn; £4.6bn).

• September 3, 2013

Israel tested a U.S.-backed missile system in the Mediterranean on Tuesday but did not announce the launch in advance, prompting a disclosure by Russia that kept the world on edge as the United States weighed an attack on Syria.

• September 3, 2013

China said on Monday it had been briefed by the United States about evidence on the use of chemical weapons in Syria after U.S. President Barack Obama delayed a military response to last month's chemical weapons attack near Damascus until after a congressional vote.

• September 2, 2013

Switzerland's economy will gain momentum in the coming months, buoyed in part by an improvement in business sentiment in surrounding euro zone countries, the leading Swiss indicator suggested on Friday.

• September 2, 2013

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas

Key points:

• Russia warns EU over anti-monopoly investigation; OMV enters into price-revision talks with Gazprom and Statoil; Gazprom and GDF Suez agree to revise their gas contract; Gazprom’s European exports rise 9.6 percent y-o-y in H1 2013, but net profits fall 35 percent; Gazprom cancels calls for bids to prepare project documentation for the Shtokman project; Gazprom subsidiary to enter the Italian fuel market as Gazprom plans an expansion of its own natural gas vehicle (NGV) market
• Ukraine reduces its imports of Russian gas in favour of supplies from Europe
• Russian Stroytransgas to build the overland sections of South Stream in the Balkans
• No new developments in Gazprom-CNPC negotiations, but Putin’s meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, at the G20 Summit could add fresh impetus
• Gazprom wins auction for Moscow power generation utility, MOEK

• September 2, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during 1-16 August 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The Ergenekon case reaches its expected finish, with 19 defendants facing decades in prison. Former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Ilker Basbug, faces life for his role in the conspiracy.
• The timing of the case’s conclusion with the recent military overthrow of Egypt’s democratically elected government appears to be a message to Turkey’s generals.
• Outside of the AKP camp, critics rounded on the lack of plausibility regarding the evidence and cast of players.
• Parliament’s Constitutional Commission speeds up its work, adding protections for women, children, and homosexuals to the draft document.
• Turkey’s economy slows as foreign investment pulls back from emerging markets.
• Yet the long term investment possibilities, specifically in the energy infrastructure sector, appear to be a solid bet.

• September 2, 2013

Global investors lifted their holdings of euro zone assets to the highest in more than a year this month while trimming exposure to Asian equities during a rout of emerging market assets, Reuters polls showed.

• August 30, 2013

China said there should be no rush to force U.N. Security Council action against Syria until a probe by U.N. experts into suspected chemical weapons use is complete.

• August 30, 2013