Syria's opposition accused government forces of gassing hundreds of people on Wednesday by firing rockets that released deadly fumes over rebel-held Damascus suburbs, killing men, women and children as they slept.

• August 21, 2013

Czech MPs have voted to dissolve parliament, paving the way for early elections.

• August 20, 2013

Ukraine's government says Russia has scrapped extra customs inspections on Ukrainian imports, just days after applying them.

• August 20, 2013

European Union foreign ministers could discuss the option of imposing an arms embargo on Egypt, when they meet on Wednesday to map out a response to violence in Egypt, a senior EU official said on Monday.

• August 19, 2013

The United States urged Japan on Monday to open its auto and insurance markets more to foreign companies as the two countries pursue bilateral talks linked to a broader free-trade agreement that covers two-fifths of the globe.

• August 19, 2013

Boats carrying about 20 members of a Japanese nationalist group headed back to port on Sunday after sailing near tiny islands in the East China Sea that are at the center of a dispute between Japan and China.

• August 19, 2013

Egypt's deputy prime minister will propose a way out of a bloody confrontation between the security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohamed Mursi when the cabinet discusses the crisis on Sunday.

• August 18, 2013

Boats carrying about 20 members of a Japanese nationalist group headed back to port on Sunday after sailing near tiny islands in the East China Sea that are at the center of a dispute between Japan and China.

• August 18, 2013