The surprise military exercises in the Black Sea Russian President Vladimir Putin called for are reaching their conclusion.

• March 31, 2013

NATO hopes a U.S. change to global missile defenses will dispel Russian concern and foster cooperation on an issue that has long strained relations, alliance Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said in an interview.

• March 31, 2013

Bank of Cyprus depositors with more than 100,000 euros (£84,300; $128,200) could lose up to 60% of their savings as part of an EU-IMF bailout restructuring move, officials say.

• March 31, 2013

The little island of Cyprus was the largest foreign investor in both Russia and Ukraine before the collapse and restructuring of its banks.

• March 29, 2013

Russia said on Friday that heightened military activity near North Korea was slipping into a "vicious cycle" that could get out of control, implicitly criticizing U.S. bomber flights that followed threats from Pyongyang.

• March 29, 2013

The Iranian Embassy in Baku says Tehran has nothing to do with a new radio station broadcasting in the Talysh language from Azerbaijan's breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

• March 29, 2013

The US has flown two B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea as part of an ongoing military exercise.

• March 28, 2013

Leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies have made little progress on establishing a new development bank to counterbalance Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank.

• March 28, 2013