Russia and the United States agree on how to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

• October 8, 2013

As the U.S. government moved into the second week of a shutdown on Monday with no end in sight, a deadlocked U.S. Congress also confronted an October 17 deadline to increase the nation's borrowing power or risk default.

• October 7, 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday he expected a "long and tortuous process" of world economic recovery, while China's economic growth rate of about 7 percent was "within a reasonable and expected range".

• October 7, 2013

Russia suspended imports of dairy products from neighboring Lithuania on Monday, turning up trade pressure on the European Union member weeks before it hosts a summit that could pull former Soviet republics further from Moscow's orbit.

• October 7, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during September 1-30th 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• Prime Minister Erdogan announces the long-awaited democratization package. While a step in the right direction, the proposal is lacking with regards to many of the challenges the Republic faces.
• The opposition CHP, MHP and BDP voice disappointment with the prime minister’s proposals, but none have pulled out of negotiations at the Constitution Conciliation Commission thus far. A positive sign, if any, exists.
• Protests continue in the country’s major cities, albeit on a more sporadic basis than those in the summer. Reasons behind each demonstration vary, yet the underlying dissatisfaction with the AKP remains a unifying factor regardless of the location.
• Syria’s civil war shows no sign of ending as infighting continues between the opposition forces.
• Turkey tries a different track, making overtures to the PKK-affiliated PYD despite its connections to the separatist group currently in the midst of a ceasefire with the Turkish government.

• October 7, 2013

Washington entered the fifth day of a partial government shutdown on Saturday with no end in sight even as another, more serious conflict over raising the nation's borrowing authority started heating up.

• October 5, 2013

China will replace four coal-burning heating plants in the capital Beijing with natural gas fired ones by the end of next year as it steps up efforts to clean up pollution, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

• October 5, 2013

The Netherlands launched legal proceedings against Russia on Friday, saying it had unlawfully detained Greenpeace activists on a Dutch-registered ship for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic.

• October 5, 2013