Russia's on-again, off-again plan to pursue World Trade Organization (WTO) membership bid jointly with Kazakhstan and Belarus (first announced in June 2009) remains up in the air.

• May 19, 2010

Ukraine’s credit ratings were raised at Standard & Poor’s on improvements in the country’s policy coordination and after a Russian gas subsidy agreement helped boost the government’s debt outlook.

• May 18, 2010

This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and India, a momentous occasion that invites reflection on where the two Asian giants are heading in the much-touted "Asian century".

• May 18, 2010

There is a glut for natural gas in the US market as a result of many shale gas discoveries and their rapid development. Consequently, major volumes of LNG originally developed for the US market are being diverted to Europe and other parts of the world

• May 18, 2010

The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Brazil agreed on a formula for a swap of low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel that could ease diplomatic tensions over Irans nuclear program, the Anatolia news agency reported.

• May 18, 2010

Ukraine's decision to extend the lease for the Russian fleet in the Crimea has been extremely controversial. However, in the port city of Sevastopol, locals are enthusiastic - the Russian naval base is the primary source of income for most of the region.

• May 18, 2010

Hopes are high that the deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey to turn Iran's controversial enriched uranium supplies into fuel rods outside the Islamic Republic will be a major step towards solving the on-going stand-off.

• May 18, 2010

A drifting cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano has changed direction, allowing London's Heathrow and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports to begin operating again. Central Europe has remained unaffected for the time being.

• May 18, 2010