China's Foreign Ministry urged a role for the U.N. Security Council in resolving the crisis in Syria on Friday after the United States said it had given up trying to work with the council on Syria, accusing Russia of holding it hostage.

• September 6, 2013

The U.S. special envoy for North Korea will travel to South Korea, China and Japan next week for consultations on policy toward Pyongyang, the State Department said on Thursday.

• September 6, 2013

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, and markets turned their attention to ECB chief Mario Draghi's news conference for any signs a euro zone recovery will affect the bank's policy stance.

• September 5, 2013

China warned on Thursday that military intervention in Syria would hurt the world economy and push up oil prices, reinforcing Vladimir Putin's attempts to talk U.S. President Barack Obama out of air strikes.

• September 5, 2013

Russia's top gas producer Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and China's CNPC agreed on Thursday on basic terms of long-awaited gas supplies to China, paving the way for the final deal, which would cement Moscow's footing in the world's second largest economy.

• September 5, 2013

Israel tested a U.S.-backed missile system in the Mediterranean on Tuesday but did not announce the launch in advance, prompting a disclosure by Russia that kept the world on edge as the United States weighed an attack on Syria.

• September 3, 2013

China said on Monday it had been briefed by the United States about evidence on the use of chemical weapons in Syria after U.S. President Barack Obama delayed a military response to last month's chemical weapons attack near Damascus until after a congressional vote.

• September 2, 2013

Global investors lifted their holdings of euro zone assets to the highest in more than a year this month while trimming exposure to Asian equities during a rout of emerging market assets, Reuters polls showed.

• August 30, 2013