The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministerial Meeting opened in Singapore on December 7 with the participation of trade ministers and officials from the 12 TPP parties.

 US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Beijing, the second leg of his tour of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. His visit is expected help ease tensions in the region following China’s claim of its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.

The Nobel Peace laureate, who was elected South Africa's first black president after spending nearly three decades as a political prisoner, died at his Johannesburg home surrounded by his family, after a long battle against lung infection.

   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim attend a joint press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 27, 2013 

China's ruling Communist Party has banned officials from using public funds to buy new year celebration items ranging from alcohol to fireworks, in Beijing's latest step in a crackdown on waste and graft.

   EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton (R) arrives at the Palace of Nations, the venue hosting talks on Iranian nuclear program, in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 20, 2013.The date was set during the last round of talks between the P5+1, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany, and Iran.