France will host talks on the Syria conflict on Tuesday with representatives from the United States, Europe, Jordan and Turkey but without Syria's allies Russia and Iran, the foreign ministry said.

• October 27, 2015

The European Commission, which polices euro zone governments' finances, will give more budget leeway to states that can prove to have suffered extraordinary costs to face the refugee crisis, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday.

• October 27, 2015

A major state-owned Chinese company has struck a preliminary deal to develop an industrial park in western Mexico that could be one of China's biggest-ever investments in Latin America's second largest economy, Mexican officials said.

• October 27, 2015

Senior Russian customs officials met counterparts from the European Commission on Monday in what they said were the highest-level talks for over a year on issues where relations are soured by trade sanctions.

• October 26, 2015

Further diplomatic discussions on ending the Syrian conflict could occur as soon as the end of this week, a State Department spokesman said on Monday, acknowledging that Iran would eventually need to be involved in the talks on a political transition in Syria.

• October 26, 2015

India hosts its biggest-ever Africa summit this week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to challenge China's dominance on a continent that is blessed with vast natural resources and has the world's fastest-growing population.

• October 26, 2015

U.S. plans to send warships or military aircraft within 12 nautical miles of China's artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, possibly within days, could open a tense new front in Sino-U.S. rivalry.

• October 25, 2015

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin wanted Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections, as Moscow intensified its drive to convert its increased clout with Damascus into a political settlement.

• October 25, 2015