Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, speaking on television after more than two weeks of street unrest over his U-turn away from the European Union towards Russia, said on Tuesday there was no alternative to restoring trade relations with Moscow.

• December 10, 2013

Russia and Cuba have quietly signed an agreement to write off 90 percent of Cuba's $32 billion debt to the defunct Soviet Union, a deal that ends a 20-year squabble and opens the way for more investment and trade, Russian and European diplomats said.

• December 10, 2013

Commentaries by two of China's most influential news outlets suggesting that the country's air pollution crisis was not without a silver lining drew a withering reaction on Tuesday from internet users and other media.

• December 10, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during November 16-30th 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The AKP-Gulen Movement split hits the front pages and airwaves in Turkey.
• Once friendly outlets controlled by the Gulen Movement turn on Prime Minister Erdogan after a 2004 action plan is released describing AKP complicity with the military to undermine Gulen-owned companies.
• The Constitutional Commission fails on its mission having only agreed to half of the required articles.
• Contentious issues regarding citizenship, the Kurdish issue and a new presidential role remain unresolved.
• Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq look set to sign a pipeline deal despite continued opposition from Baghdad.

• December 10, 2013

China will soon rate the performance of local governments partly by how much debt they incur, as Beijing tries to wean the country off heavy government investment, state media said.

• December 9, 2013

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, facing mass street protests over his policy U-turn away from the European Union towards Russia, backed on Monday a call for talks involving the opposition to work out a compromise, his website said.

• December 9, 2013

Call it the Brussels Consensus. A system of beliefs rooted in European Union treaties helps explain the growing gulf between policy elites and ordinary citizens that may cause a political earthquake in European Parliament elections next May.

• December 9, 2013

South Africans united in mourning for Nelson Mandela on Friday, but while some celebrated his remarkable life with dance and song, others fretted that the anti-apartheid hero's death would leave the nation vulnerable again to racial and social tensions.

• December 7, 2013