Sterling climbed to a 2016 high and global stocks rallied as investors bet Britons were likely to vote to remain in the European Union.
Oil prices rose, shrugging off a smaller-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles, and the safe-haven yen fell against the dollar as the last pre-vote opinion polls showed the "Remain" camp holding a small lead.

• June 23, 2016

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, monitoring a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, has called on Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists to do more to investigate violations of the agreement.

• June 22, 2016

Russia must boost its combat readiness in response to NATO's "aggressive actions" near Russia's borders, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

• June 22, 2016

The European Union's Brussels envoys agreed on Tuesday to extend until the end of January the energy, financial and defense sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, but formal approval is still pending, diplomatic sources said.

• June 22, 2016

Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday's referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union was likely to be very close but he also predicted a "remain dividend" in investments if Britons voted to stay in the 28-nation bloc.

• June 21, 2016

Russia called on Tuesday for a swift resumption of stalled Syrian peace talks, saying it was the only way to halt "massive violations" of human rights perpetrated in the five-year-old conflict.

• June 21, 2016

Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's top oil producer Rosneft, said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia were the three main players on global oil markets, dismissing again OPEC's role as a regulator.

• June 21, 2016

The Islamic State group launched a counter attack against fighters trying to capture the Syrian city of Manbij on Monday, inflicting heavy casualties on the U.S.-backed forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the militants said.

• June 20, 2016