President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged to elevate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a gesture that recognizes the country's democratic progress after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

• May 21, 2015

China's land reclamation around reefs in the disputed South China Sea is undermining freedom and stability, and risks provoking tension that could even lead to conflict, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a conference in Jakarta.

• May 20, 2015

The Internet is the most important front in China's ideological battle against "Western anti-China forces", the country's military newspaper said on Wednesday, adding that online controls were essential to the government's survival.

• May 20, 2015

Thirty-two energy companies led by Russia's Gazprom account for almost a third of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions if the burning of all the coal, oil and gas they produce is taken into account, a study said on Wednesday.

• May 20, 2015

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics
15 April – 15 May 2015
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) looks set to be a king maker in June’s parliamentary elections, though its leader vows its election platform is “the nightmare of the sultan”—in reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• The HDP makes a bold play to connect with voters outside of its core Kurdish constituency that, if successful, may siphon votes away from the Republican People’s Party (CHP). If it fails, however, the party risks being shut out of parliament entirely.
• After many years of competing interests, Saudi-Turkish political cooperation has the potential to impact the entire region.
• While the Turkish Stream project grabs headlines, progress on the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) draws the interest of potential new suppliers from Iraq and Iran.

• May 20, 2015

Russia may allow around 20 firms from Hungary, Cyprus and Greece to return to its market after it orders the lifting of an embargo on food imports from the European Union, Interfax news agency quoted a senior official as saying on Tuesday.

• May 19, 2015

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday deployed tanks and artillery around Ramadi to confront Islamic State fighters who have captured the city in a major defeat for the Baghdad government and its Western backers.

• May 19, 2015

Oil prices fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday, with U.S. crude extending losses for a fifth straight day, as the dollar rallied amid evidence that the United States and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia were pumping more than the world needed.

• May 19, 2015