Russia's state-controlled Rosneft has announced it has finalized deals to gain control of TNK-BP and become the world's largest publicly traded oil producer.

• March 22, 2013

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran will destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it comes under attack by the Jewish state.

• March 22, 2013

President Nikos Anastasiades has announced an agreement between political parties in Cyprus to establish an "investment solidarity fund" as part of a new bailout plan.

• March 21, 2013

Japan and the United States have started talks on operational plans in the case of armed conflict over a group of East China Sea islets claimed by Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese media said on Thursday, prompting China to complain of "outside pressure".

• March 21, 2013

Pakistan views a planned natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan as a key way to address its energy concerns, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said.

• March 21, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during March 1-15th 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• Talks continue between Ocalan and the government, with a ceasefire being mentioned ahead of the March 21 Nevruz holiday.
• The autonomy of Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq leave Ankara anxious of the PKK exploiting increasingly fluid borders should peace talks fail.
• Turkey continues to avoid direct military intervention in Syria’s civil war, although fear of the conflict spreading has the country on edge.
• Ratings agencies think Turkey’s ability to cut its current-account deficit will fade over 2013. The central bank’s use of foreign cash in its monetary policies leaves the economy open to global shocks.
• Reliance on energy imports is fueling the growing account deficit, and Turkey’s lack of storage infrastructure prevents the country from sitting on supplies for later use.
• Turkey’s eastern provinces may hold shale gas deposits, while NABUCCO and TANAP’s intelligence sharing agreement will help diversify the country’s import markets

• March 21, 2013

On February 12, Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych paid a three-day visit to gas-rich Turkmenistan to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation and reiterate Kyiv’s interest in resuming direct imports of the Central Asian country’s natural gas, which were suspended in 2006 (Interfax-Ukraine, February 14).

• March 20, 2013

CYPRUS’S finance minister pleaded with Russia for help on Wednesday to avert a financial meltdown after the island's parliament rejected the terms of a European bailout, raising the spectre of a looming default and bank crash.

• March 20, 2013