The upcoming World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 (WEF) scheduled for May 30-June 1 in Bangkok , Thailand , is expected to draw about 700 people.

The Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is organising an art competition from May to July to commemorate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN on August 8.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday presented nominations to newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin for a new Russian cabinet that is expected to contain major changes.

Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover at the Elysee Palace in central Paris.

Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with the President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during the fifth Trilateral Summit Meeting in Beijing on May 14.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez strode, sang and gave a rousing speech on Friday after his latest cancer treatment in Cuba.

The 3rd ASEAN Conference on Human Resources took place in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, focusing on developing skills to create a highly mobile and skilled workforce in ASEAN.

A Victory Day military parade took place in Red Square on Wednesday to commemorate 67 years since victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The parade was reviewed by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and addressed by President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's lower house of parliament confirmed former president Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a job swap with Vladimir Putin that has sparked protests against the two leaders' grip on power.

Vladimir Putin on Monday took his oath of office to become Russia's president for a historic third mandate at a glittering ceremony inside the Kremlin.

Francois Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a presidential runoff Sunday, signaling a shift to the left as the country and Europe fight to dig out of a weak economy.

The ASEAN Committee for Consumer Protection (ACCP) has launched a new website, www.aseanconsumer.org, to help consumers with recalled or banned products, explain the compensation mechanism and provide general information.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officially launched its largest financing initiative, the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF), on May 3 in the Filipino capital Manila , on the sidelines of the ASEAN Development Bank’s (ADB) 45 th Annual Meeting.

ASEAN and Africa Union have agreed to step up bilateral co-operation in a number of fields, said the ASEAN Secretariat in a press release issued on May 3.

Hungary's ruling party elected a strong ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban as president on Wednesday, strengthening Orban's powers and ensuring a solid backing for his political programme.

The Second Meeting of the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy (IRDD) took place in Jakarta on April 30 and May 1, to discuss how democracy is developing in various regions of the world.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to "finish the job" and end the Afghan war, addressing the US public live from a military base in Afghanistan.

The ASEAN Secretariat highlighted the success of the ASEAN delegation’s visit to Japan, considering it an important landmark in promoting the ASEAN-Japan co-operation, one of the most important and dynamic bilateral relationship of ASEAN in its press release on April 30.

Major General Robert Mood of Norway arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus Sunday afternoon to head a UN cease-fire observer mission, aimed at bringing an early end to the 13-month-old crisis in Syria.

South Sudan has told the United Nations it will pull all police out of a disputed region bordering Sudan and is committed to halting all fighting with its northern neighbor, but Khartoum declared a state of emergency in some border areas.