Boats carrying about 20 members of a Japanese nationalist group headed back to port on Sunday after sailing near tiny islands in the East China Sea that are at the center of a dispute between Japan and China.

• August 18, 2013

The European Union will review its relationship with Egypt in the coming days, the 28-member bloc said on Sunday.

• August 18, 2013

The European Union should review aid programs to Egypt and the International Monetary Fund should hold off from supporting Cairo after a crackdown on supporters of the ousted Islamist president, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday.

• August 16, 2013

U.S. and Russian officials agreed on Friday on the need to convene a long-delayed Syrian peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible, but they offered no concrete plan to bring the warring government and rebels to the table.

• August 11, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not made an agreement with Saudi Arabia to scale back support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in exchange for economic incentives including an arms deal, the Kremlin said on Friday.

• August 9, 2013

Four Chinese ships spent more than 24 hours in what Japan sees as its territorial waters, prompting a Japanese protest to China on Thursday at a time when Tokyo has been signaling its desire for a summit.

• August 8, 2013

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will resume peace talks in Jerusalem on August 14, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

• August 8, 2013

The US has criticised a new internet decree in Vietnam that would restrict online users from discussing current affairs.

• August 6, 2013