German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the European Union's 28 member states to reach a "no spy deal" similar to an agreement France and Germany seek with the United State following allegations Washington tapped her mobile phone.

• October 26, 2013

European Union leaders rebuffed calls from southern European states on Friday for emergency action to tackle a wave of illegal migration from Africa despite the deaths of hundreds of people in Mediterranean boat disasters.

• October 26, 2013

North Korea repatriated six South Korean citizens and a corpse at a heavily defended border crossing on Friday, South Korea's Ministry of Unification said, in a rare humanitarian gesture amid persistent tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul.

• October 25, 2013

Turkey and Iraq, both concerned by the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, said on Friday their strained relations were improving and they would cooperate more closely to limit the spillover from Syria's civil war.

• October 25, 2013

Russia angrily denied U.S. media reports that the Russian director of a cultural exchange program may be recruiting Americans as spies, saying such allegations risked damaging ties between the two countries.

• October 25, 2013

The slowdown in Asian economies will likely persist for the rest of this year as weak global growth and reforms under way in many countries hinder activity, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

• October 24, 2013

The European Parliament called on Wednesday for U.S. access to a global financial database in Belgium to be suspended due to concerns that the United States is snooping on the European Union, not just combating terrorism.

• October 24, 2013

NATO and Russia could play a role in eliminating Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles if they were asked to do so by the United Nations, said U.S., NATO and Russian officials on Wednesday.

• October 24, 2013