Tajikistan's parliament ratified a deal with Russia on Tuesday to extend by three decades Moscow's military presence in the volatile Central Asian nation, which may face new security threats after NATO troops leave neighbouring Afghanistan.

• October 1, 2013

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is in South Korea for talks, where the eventual transfer of military control to Seoul is expected to be a key issue.

• September 30, 2013

Iran's deputy foreign minister says Tehran is willing to discuss limits to its uranium enrichment but will not suspend the process completely.

• September 30, 2013

China opened a new free trade zone in Shanghai on Sunday in what has been hailed as potentially the boldest reform move in decades, unveiling fresh details of plans to liberalize regulations governing finance, investment and trade in the zone.

• September 29, 2013

China has formally announced detailed plans for a new free-trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai, touted as the country's biggest potential economic reform since Deng Xiaoping used a similar zone in Shenzhen to pry open a closed economy to trade in 1978.

• September 27, 2013

There were plenty of postive reactions to U.S. President Barack Obama's address to the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24.

• September 26, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to the United Nations on Tuesday to back tough consequences for Syria if it refuses to give up chemical weapons and urged Russia and Iran to end their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

• September 25, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama says the new Iranian government's pursuit of a "more moderate course" should offer a basis for an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

• September 25, 2013