OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and top non-OPEC producer Russia are showing signs of flexibility about agreeing to tackle an oil glut that has pushed prices to 12-year lows, the oil minister of Iraq said on Tuesday.

• January 26, 2016

The United Nations said on Monday it would issue invitations for marathon Syrian peace talks to begin this week, but opposition groups signalled they would stay away unless the government and its Russian allies halt air strikes and lift sieges on towns.

• January 25, 2016

U.S. oil prices recoiled 6 percent on Monday, slipping below the pivotal $30-a-barrel threshold in post-settlement trade, after news that Iraq's output reached a record last month returned attention to a market glut that sent prices to 12-year lows last week.

• January 25, 2016

Senior OPEC and Russian oil industry officials stepped up vague talk on Monday of possible joint action to remedy one of the worst supply gluts in decades, while Saudi Arabia signaled its resolve to allow the market to balance itself.

• January 25, 2016

Ukraine will not give its eastern regions greater autonomy until a lasting ceasefire with pro-Russian separatist rebels is in place, President Petro Poroshenko said on Sunday, in comments that could antagonize the rebels and the Kremlin.

• January 24, 2016

Europe needs to make a greater contribution to stabilizing the Middle East and should think about developing a joint strategy with Russia to reduce tensions between regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.

• January 24, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began a visit to Asia on Sunday in which he plans to press China to put more curbs on North Korea after its nuclear test and to urge Southeast Asia to show unity in response to Beijing's claims in the South China Sea.

• January 24, 2016

Iranian President Hassan Rohani says Iran and China have agreed to expand bilateral relations and boost trade to $600 billion over the next 10 years.

• January 23, 2016