For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China Sea, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.

• Date: 17.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 17.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.rferl.org

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday a new objective of Russian forces in Syria was to provide humanitarian aid.

• Date: 15.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 15.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.rferl.org

Oil prices plummeted to $29 a barrel Friday on the likely resumption soon of Iranian oil exports into an already flooded market as international sanctions against Iran are lifted, dragging equity indices around the world sharply lower.

• Date: 15.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 15.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.rferl.org

U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump called for higher tariffs on Chinese goods if China does not stop allowing its yuan currency to devalue.

• Date: 15.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 15.01.2016  |  Markets  |  from http://www.rferl.org

Saudi Arabia plans to create a new sovereign fund to manage part of its oil wealth and diversify its investments, and has asked investment banks and consultancies to submit proposals for the project, according to people familiar with the matter

• Date: 14.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 14.01.2016  |  Markets  |  from http://www.rferl.org

The Philippines has asked the United States to hold joint naval patrols, a defense ministry spokesman said on Thursday, amid a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

• Date: 14.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 14.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.rferl.org

Love him or hate him, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria unquestionably upended Middle Eastern politics. Putin supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, established several military bases in Syria, created a de-facto Russian-Shi’ite axis, confronted Turkey and forced the West to re-engage with him.

• Date: 14.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 14.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com

Ukraine says it will for the first time ship goods to Kazakhstan along a route bypassing Russia, due to the Kremlin’s trade embargo on Kyiv.

• Date: 13.01.2016  |  Published on EGF: 12.01.2016  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.rferl.org