One spring day in 2011 five people gathered around a small table at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin and hatched the beginnings of a plan to get former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky out of prison.

• December 27, 2013

Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will review two convictions against former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, including a ruling the Kremlin critic said was preventing him from returning to Russia despite a presidential pardon.

• December 26, 2013

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is sending an envoy to help seek a political solution to ethnic bloodletting in South Sudan and to liaise with neighboring countries, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

• December 26, 2013

China's first and only aircraft carrier has successfully carried out a series of tests during a training mission in the disputed South China Sea, state media reported on Monday.

• December 23, 2013

The European Union on Monday banned the export of arms and the sending of mercenaries to Central African Republic, which is racked by sectarian violence.

• December 23, 2013

China is to send a military ship to help protect a specially adapted U.S. vessel that will destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

• December 19, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised the U.S. role in forging an interim deal to ease concerns about Iran's nuclear program but said he hoped a U.S. decision to broaden a blacklist of companies under existing sanctions would not undermine progress toward a comprehensive agreement.

• December 19, 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday played down tension with China over the East China Sea, saying U.S. efforts to strengthen maritime security in South East Asia were part of a normal process to help allies defend themselves better.

• December 17, 2013