President Bashar al-Assad has said Russian anti-aircraft missiles have arrived in Syria, Lebanese TV reported, in a claim that is likely to dramatically increase tensions in the region and could provoke the Israelis to launch a strike against the weapons.

• May 30, 2013

Home to the creators of Skype and the first country to use online voting, Estonia relishes its image as a technological pioneer. But the tiny East European country's most far-reaching economic achievement could come from how it has learned to squeeze oil from a rock.

• May 30, 2013

Canada says it will freeze all trade with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program and human rights record.

• May 30, 2013

Officials at a meeting of the governing board of a Russian-led Eurasian customs union say Kyrgyzstan will join the grouping and Ukraine will be granted observer status.

• May 29, 2013

The Syrian opposition said on Wednesday it would only take part in planned international peace talks if a deadline was set for a settlement that forces President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.

• May 29, 2013

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced as "odious" a U.S.-backed draft resolution condemning the Syrian government before a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday and said it would undermine peace efforts.

• May 29, 2013

The United States called for deeper military ties with China on Tuesday, including working closer together in areas like peacekeeping, fighting piracy and disaster relief, despite growing tensions between the two on a range of security issues.

• May 28, 2013

The European Union’s decision to end the embargo on arms supplies to the Syrian opposition is illegitimate and at odds with the norms of international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

• May 28, 2013