Fast moving events in the Middle Eastern landscape in recent years have gravitated Saudi Arabia and Turkey, two regional heavyweights in this region, towards each other

• December 23, 2011

The head of the liberal Yabloko party is skeptical about prospects for implementing the political reforms proposed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday, saying that the outgoing president would not have enough time to follow through on them.

• December 22, 2011

Crude oil may rise for a fourth year to a record average price in 2012 as demand in emerging markets increases and the U.S. avoids a recession.

• December 22, 2011

In situations as dire as that of North Korea, any change is a harbinger of hope. As much is true of the death of the reclusive nation's leader, Kim Jong Il, and the ascension of his youngest son, 20-something Kim Jong Un. Even though this has triggered immediate fears of instability throughout northeast Asia, the longer-term outlook is surely one of enhanced optimism, for the Korean people and the rest of the world.

• December 22, 2011

Saudi crude exports to China have surged, strengthening the Asian country's hand in a price dispute with Iran.
Last month's exports of Saudi crude to China rose by 32 per cent over the same period last year to 4.81 million barrels per day (bpd), almost half of the kingdom's current production, Chinese customs data released yesterday showed.

• December 21, 2011

France and Turkey are heading toward a showdown this Thursday, as France moved to make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime punishable by a 45,000-euro fine and a year in jail – and an apoplexic Turkey threatened to retaliate if the sensitive matter was dealt with in this fashion.

• December 21, 2011

Ukraine wants to pay its sole gas supplier Russia no more than $250 per thousand cubic metres, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Wednesday.

• December 21, 2011

Truth be told, the worst thing in the world that could happen – next to a nuclear war between Pakistan and India – would be a nuclear conflict in northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula. In both cases, millions, or tens of millions, could die. And it’s possible to envision a disoriented, paranoid North Korean leadership triggering a war with South Korea and its allies, with the ever-present danger that such a war could escalate if North Korea used its stockpile of nuclear bombs. In addition, the flow of countless refugees across the border into China would likely involve Beijing in the crisis instantly.

• December 20, 2011