In the space of a few weeks, Ukraine has executed a stunning geopolitical pirouette.

• May 8, 2010

Colombian coal is continuing to head to Asia which is keeping availability tight in Europe and underpinning high prices. Colombian coal is flowing to east Asian countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan, where it is delivered at a discount of as much as USD 15 per tonne to coal loading at Newcastle in Australia and Richards Bay in South Africa.

• May 8, 2010

Chinese President Hu Jintao's attendance at the World War II Victory Day celebrations here would be a significant political step promoting Sino-Russian relations, said a leading Russian expert on Far East studies in a recent interview with Xinhua.

• May 8, 2010

Energy-rich Azerbaijan is ready to supply half its natural gas extracts to the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline intended to pump gas to Europe, a presidential administration official said on Thursday. Nabucco, whose planned pipeline would bypass Russia, is a rival project to the Kremlin-backed South Stream gas pipeline.

• May 8, 2010

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said his government is interested to pursue a foreign policy that will balance relations with its strategic partners, both in the East and the West.

• May 7, 2010

Bulgaria has reportedly unsuccessfully courted Romania as it angles for a new chief investor in its second nuclear power plant Belene to replace the German energy company RWE, which withdrew last autumn.

• May 7, 2010

Eurozone leaders gather on Friday for a key economic summit, amid fears that the single European currency may collapse. Greece will dominate the agenda, but France and Germany's leaders say there is much more at stake.

• May 7, 2010

Voting is over in Britain's general election, and results are frantically being counted. Early exit polls indicate the Conservative party will win the most seats, but will also fall short of a parliamentary majority.

• May 7, 2010