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.
Politics
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.
Iran, the United States and the European Union began an unscheduled second day of talks in Oman on Monday on disagreements hindering resolution of a confrontation over Tehran's nuclear program, U.S. and Iranian officials said.
The United States did not raise North Korea's banned nuclear program during the visit by a senior U.S. official to secure the release of two American prisoners, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday.
Iraqi military forces reached the center of the northern city of Baiji on Sunday to try to break an Islamic State siege of the country's biggest refinery nearby, triggering fierce clashes with the militants, according to an army colonel and a witness.