Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says Damascus is ready for dialogue with the opposition, including armed rebels who have been seeking to topple the regime for almost two years.

• February 26, 2013

A new round of talks between world powers and Iran over its controversial nuclear programme has opened in the Kazakh city of Almaty.

• February 26, 2013

Journalists were present at an official ceremony of a meeting of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

• February 25, 2013

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Bulgaria to protest against corruption and the country's rising cost of living.

• February 25, 2013

Israel's Defense Ministry says it has successfully tested the upgraded Arrow antimissile system for the first time during a joint exercise with U.S. forces.

• February 25, 2013

Iran says it has found major new uranium deposits and is planning to expand its nuclear power programme.

• February 23, 2013

Opposition politician Andrei Sannikov, recently released from jail in his native Belarus, urged the international community to impose tougher sanctions on his country to end human rights abuses

• February 23, 2013

Turkey has proposed that Armenia take part in its comprehensive regional transportation project linking Europe to Asia, if there are concrete developments in solving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, presenting this proposal also to OSCE Minsk Group, Turkish Hürriyet Daily News newspaper reported.

• February 23, 2013