China's behavior in a narrowly averted naval collision in the South China Sea was both "unhelpful" and "irresponsible," U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday, warning against incidents that could escalate U.S.-Chinese tension.

• December 20, 2013

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, left prison on Friday after a pardon from President Vladimir Putin ended a decade in jail that many saw as the fallen oil tycoon's punishment for daring to challenge the Kremlin.

• December 20, 2013

A $15 billion Russian aid package for Ukraine began to take shape on Thursday as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich went public in defense of the deal, but offered no concessions to persuade thousands of protesters to leave the streets.

• December 20, 2013

China will expand its presence in Antarctica by building a fourth research base and finding a site for a fifth, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday, as the country steps up its increasingly far-flung scientific efforts.

• December 19, 2013

China is to send a military ship to help protect a specially adapted U.S. vessel that will destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

• December 19, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised the U.S. role in forging an interim deal to ease concerns about Iran's nuclear program but said he hoped a U.S. decision to broaden a blacklist of companies under existing sanctions would not undermine progress toward a comprehensive agreement.

• December 19, 2013

Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov on Wednesday described a $15 billion aid package from Russia as a historic deal to allow the ex-Soviet republic return to economic growth, as protesters in Kiev voiced anger over a "sell-out" to Moscow.

• December 18, 2013

Russia accused the West on Wednesday of putting pressure on Ukraine to choose closer ties with the European Union even though Kiev has accepted a Russian bailout after spurning a trade deal with the EU.

• December 18, 2013