Google has offered further concessions to address regulatory concerns about its search technology, the European Commission said on Wednesday, effectively settling a three-year investigation and avoiding a fine of up to $5 billion.

• February 5, 2014

Russia said its ally Syria would soon ship more chemical weapons abroad for destruction after being accused of dragging its feet, while activists said civilians in Aleppo were fleeing deadly barrel bomb raids by President Bashar al-Assad's air force.

• February 4, 2014

China has unveiled new rules telling officials not to cover up what should be publicly available information using the excuse it is a state secret, in what state media said was a move towards greater government transparency.

• February 3, 2014

Thai anti-government protesters planned to forge ahead on Monday with efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after a disrupted election that is unlikely to settle the country's long-running political conflict.

• February 3, 2014

Ukrainian opposition leaders are due to meet President Viktor Yanukovych, a day after the first deaths in the protests that have gripped Kiev for two months.

• January 23, 2014

Ukraine's prime minister denounced anti-government protesters as "terrorists" on Wednesday, but in what appeared to be his first real move to end weeks of unrest President Viktor Yanukovich held talks with opposition leaders.

• January 22, 2014

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged European governments on Tuesday not to interfere in Ukraine's political crisis and expressed concern that events in Kiev could be spinning out of control.

• January 21, 2014

China will base a 5,000-tonne civilian patrol ship on one of the main islands it controls in the disputed South China Sea and begin regular patrols, an official newspaper said on Tuesday, a move likely to add fuel to territorial disputes with neighbors.

• January 21, 2014