Increasingly growing ties between Russia and Turkey continued this year, as cooperation and partnership in the energy sector became dominant themes in the programs of both countries. While Moscow has skillfully taken advantage of Turkey’s desire to become an energy hub through signing energy deals with its southern neighbor in recent years, rivalry continues in both countries’ backyard, the volatile South Caucasus.

The US has revoked the visa of Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, in retaliation for President Hugo Chavez's rejection of a nominated US envoy, Larry Palmer, who is critical of the Venezuelan government, the US State Department said Wednesday.

President Barack Obama has bypassed the usual process of confirmation by the Senate and directly appointed four new U.S. ambassadors whose nominations had been stalled or blocked by lawmakers for months.

Last year, early on Christmas Eve morning, representatives from the U.S., United Kingdom, Netherlands, and the European Union arrived for a meeting with Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Appointed prime minister earlier that year as part of a power-sharing agreement after the fraud- and violence-ridden 2008 presidential election, Tsvangirai and his political party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), are considered Zimbabwe's greatest hopes for unseating the country's long-time de facto dictator Robert Mugabe and bringing democratic reforms to the country.

Turkey's non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council for two years, which started at the beginning of 2009, may be marked as its most significant international mission in recent years as it came after almost a half-century-long hiatus since it last held the same post.

Last week, Republican members who had pledged to support the fiscal year 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Bill changed their minds and chose instead to walk in lockstep with the House and Senate Republican leaders who believe that freezing spending at the fiscal year 2010 level is good politics.