A scrawny 15-year-old this summer became the first from his deeply religious Muslim village in Russia's southern Dagestan province to die fighting alongside rebels in Syria.

• November 14, 2013

China faces steep intellectual property rights challenges which undercut Beijing's efforts to boost innovation, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday, comments that drew a rebuke from China's Foreign Ministry.

• November 14, 2013

8th Workshop of the PfP Consortium Study Group “Regional Stability in the South Caucasus”

On 07-09 November 2013, Mr. George Niculescu, the Head of Research of the European Geopolitical Forum, attended the 8th Workshop of the PfP Consortium Study Group “Regional Stability in the South Caucasus”, held in Reichenau (Austria). Mr. Niculescu moderated the panel on “Alternative Models of Sovereignty in Practice” aiming to propose practical solutions for “joint political and administrative” governance in the South Caucasus. Distinguished panelists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Germany and the United Kingdom put forward their thoughts on the subject, while the audience consisting of officials and experts from regional and international think tanks, education institutions, and civil society actively debated panelists’ proposals. Mr. Niculescu concluded that: “Rather than trying to impose unilateral solutions involving the final status of the unrecognized political entities in the South Caucasus, regional states and relevant international actors should rather focus creative energies on setting up transitional processes aimed at achieving multilateral governance over the regional commons. Moreover, as suggested by lessons learned in the Western Balkans, region building strategies should effectively complement international efforts for conflict transformation. However, a champion for regional integration is still missing in the South Caucasus. Potentially, the EU could revitalize its involvement in strengthening regionalism in the South Caucasus in strategic coordination with Russia and Turkey“. Click here to see an outline of the workshop and here to see the ensuing policy recommendations.

• November 14, 2013

Bosses from top euro zone banks were gathering at the European Central Bank on Wednesday to find out what it will be looking for in its upcoming "stress tests" on their balance sheets.

• November 13, 2013

Ukraine's parliament failed on Wednesday to agree on a draft law to allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment, clouding prospects for signing landmark agreements with the European Union this month.

• November 13, 2013

The European Union is seeking to increase its influence over global accounting standards by beefing up the agency that scrutinizes new rules and in certain cases tweaking how they are applied in the bloc.

• November 13, 2013

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejected U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's pinning of blame on Iran for the lack of a deal on its nuclear program last week, saying splits between Western powers prevented a breakthrough.

• November 12, 2013

Asian shares held steady on Tuesday, with investors turning their attention to the Chinese Communist Party policy-meeting for clues to China's economic agenda for the next decade, while the dollar's two-day rally against the euro came to a halt.

• November 12, 2013