The United Nations peace envoy to Syria said on Tuesday that Syrian officials had given him positive signals over a U.N. proposal for a local truce in the northern city of Aleppo, a main battleground in Syria's three-year-old war.
Politics
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) said more than $6 billion of goods have been sold so far during its annual Singles' Day online shopping frenzy, as customers jumped on heavily discounted goods to send sales surging past 2013's record high.
Ukraine's currency lost nearly 5 percent of its value on Monday after a weekend that saw the heaviest shelling in a month hit the main rebel stronghold in the east and signs that Moscow had dispatched troops and tanks to reinforce separatists.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday that a proposal by an international peace mediator to implement local ceasefires starting in the northern city of Aleppo was "worth studying", state media said.
Close to two million Catalans voted on Sunday in favor of seceding from Spain, the regional government said, in a symbolic referendum that supporters hope will fuel the independence debate despite opposition from Madrid.
An Iranian copy of a U.S. reconnaissance drone captured in 2011 has taken its first flight, state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday a successful China was in the interests of the United States and the world but Beijing had to be a partner in underwriting international order, and not undermine it.
China and Vietnam have agreed to handle maritime disputes through dialogue, Chinese state media reported on Monday, months after ties between the two countries hit a three-decade low in a row over a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters.
After an awkward handshake, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held formal talks on Monday for the first time since the two leaders took office, a breakthrough in efforts to improve ties between the Asian rivals.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he sees momentum building for a Washington-backed free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour.