The Georgian army began two weeks of military exercises with the United States and Britain on Wednesday, drawing an angry response from former Soviet master Russia which called the war games "a provocative step".

• May 11, 2016

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

The United States' European missile defense shield goes live on Thursday almost a decade after Washington proposed protecting NATO from Iranian rockets and despite Russian warnings that the West is threatening the peace in central Europe.

• May 11, 2016

The 17-nation group backing Syria peace talks will meet next week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, a day after he and his Russian counterpart agreed to work to revive a "cessation of hostilities" agreement reached in February.

• May 10, 2016

Internal differences are killing OPEC and its ability to influence the markets has all but evaporated, top Russian oil executive Igor Sechin told Reuters in some of his harshest remarks ever about the oil cartel.

• May 10, 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

Syrian government forces and their allies fought insurgents near Aleppo on Monday and jets carried out raids around a nearby town seized by Islamist rebels, a monitoring group said, despite international efforts to reduce the violence.

• May 9, 2016