Islamic State raised its flag on a building on the outskirts of the Syrian frontier town of Kobani on Monday after an assault of almost three weeks, but the town's Kurdish defenders said its fighters had not reached the city centre.

• October 6, 2014

The World Bank cut its 2014-2016 growth forecasts for developing East Asia, noting that China was likely to slow due to policies aimed at putting the economy on a more sustainable footing, and it also cautioned of capital-flight risks to Indonesia.

• October 6, 2014

Manufacturing growth in the euro zone slowed further in September as new orders contracted for the first time in over a year on dwindling demand at home and from abroad, a business survey showed on Wednesday.

• October 4, 2014

The Philippines has stopped all development work in the disputed South China Sea because of the impact such activity might have on an arbitration complaint it has filed against China, a defense official said on Friday.

• October 4, 2014

The Russia-led South Stream undersea gas pipeline is still going ahead, Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying on Saturday, following concerns the European Union might be losing enthusiasm for the project.

• October 4, 2014

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday it was essential that both Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists fully observed a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine clinched nearly a month ago.

• October 3, 2014

Ukraine accused Russian forces on Friday of helping separatists step up pressure on government troops holding the main airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, threatening a fragile ceasefire.

• October 3, 2014

Russia said on Friday the mortar fire that killed a Swiss worker from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine was fired from territory controlled by Ukrainian government forces.

• October 3, 2014