China is likely to reach its target of closing small coal-fired power plants totaling 10 million kilowatts of capacity by August, said a government official.

• July 7, 2010

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said that Tehran could resume talks from September 1 with the six world powers over its atomic program should a number of conditions be met.

• July 7, 2010

US President Obama urges Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct peace talks before a settlement freeze expires in September.

• July 7, 2010

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled ambitious development goals for the volatile North Caucasus on Tuesday, promising 400,000 new jobs, an oil center in Chechnya and ski resorts stretching from the Black to the Caspian seas.

• July 7, 2010

The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan took their longest stride to date in linking their economies, forming a customs union that they say will soon evolve into a more ambitious common market, with Russia at its hub.

• July 6, 2010

Despite media reports that Turkey would cut diplomatic ties without an Israeli apology over a raid on an aid flotilla to Gaza, the Turkish government has taken a slightly softer tone with an unapologetic Israel.

• July 6, 2010

Normal life is disrupted in parts of India as opposition parties begin a 12-hour strike over fuel price increases.

• July 5, 2010

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has visited Azerbaijan to seek a restart of peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh, repair frayed bilateral ties, and press the oil-rich Caucasus nation on human rights.

• July 5, 2010