Israel has asked Russia not to sell Syria an advanced air defence system that would help President Bashar al-Assad fend off foreign military intervention as he battles a more than two-year-old rebellion, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

• May 10, 2013

Israel has asked Russia not to sell Syria an advanced air defense system which would help President Bashar al-Assad fend off foreign military intervention as he battles a more than two-year-old rebellion, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

• May 9, 2013

Russia and the United States have announced they will encourage the rebels in Syria and Damascus government to hold talks on a political transition to end more than two years of bloodshed that has left some 70,000 dead.

• May 8, 2013

China on Wednesday accused the United States of sowing discord between China and its neighbors after the Pentagon said Beijing is using espionage to fuel its military modernization, branding Washington the "real hacking empire".

• May 8, 2013

The United States should be just as concerned as other countries about a rise in Japanese nationalism, China's ambassador to Washington said, hinting that the United States should not offer Japan encouragement in its dispute with China over a group of islets.

• May 4, 2013

The Gillard government has conspicuously softened Australia's tone towards China's military expansion in an apparent bid to consolidate relations with a key trading partner and emerging superpower.

• May 3, 2013

The U.S. Trade Representative's office criticized China on Wednesday for failing to stop the growing theft of American trade secrets that are the lifeblood of U.S. economic might, in the latest sign of Washington's frustration with the problem.

• May 2, 2013

NATO member Turkey signed up on Friday to became a "dialogue partner" of a security bloc dominated by China and Russia, and declared that its destiny is in Asia.

• April 29, 2013