U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined a plan to withdraw all but 9,800 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and pull out the rest by the end of 2016, ending more than a decade of military engagement triggered by the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

• May 28, 2014

Vietnam and China traded accusations on Tuesday over the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat not far from where China has parked an oil rig in the disputed South China Sea, as tensions fester between the two countries over the giant drilling platform.

• May 27, 2014

Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz said on Tuesday no real progress was made with Russia's Gazprom over its gas debt or on price in talks in Berlin aimed at settling a dispute that threatens to disrupt gas flows to western Europe.

• May 27, 2014

Russia said on Monday it was ready for dialogue with Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's next president, but warned the Kiev authorities not to step up armed operations against separatists in the east.

• May 26, 2014

Russia will pull back all forces deployed to regions near its border with Ukraine "within a few days," a deputy defense minister said on Friday, a move that if carried out could ease tensions around Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday.

• May 24, 2014

China warned Japan on Friday to stay out of a growing dispute with its neighbors over the South China Sea, as the Philippines implicitly accused Beijing of delaying talks aimed at a solution.

• May 24, 2014

Russia and China vetoed on Thursday a resolution to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country's three-year civil war.

• May 23, 2014

China and Russia signed a $400 billion gas supply deal on Wednesday, securing the world's top energy user a major source of fuel and opening up a new market for Moscow as it risks losing European customers over the Ukraine crisis.

• May 23, 2014