Legislation vital to securing the largest US trade deal in decades was passed by the Senate on June 24 by a comfortable margin, advancing President Barack Obama's efforts to strengthen US economic ties around the Pacific Rim.

The United States and China urged each other on June 24 to remove barriers to foreign investment, saying that business ties were vital to overall relations, although they appeared to achieve little beyond rhetoric at a high profile three-day meeting that was overshadowed by security rivalries.

Austria threatened to reimpose controls on its Hungarian border and Britain considered adding security around the French port of Calais on June 24 as divided EU leaders prepared to debate how to stem a flood of desperate migrants.

The United States said on June 23 that cyber theft sponsored by the Chinese government was a major problem and stressed the need to keep Asian sea lanes open as the world's two biggest economies held annual talks aimed at maintaining working relations in spite of rising tensions.

A devastating heat wave has killed more than 400 people in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi over the past three days, health officials said on June 23, as paramilitaries set up emergency medical camps in the streets.

Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least ten people and injured dozens in two coordinated attacks on June 23 in the heart of the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka, a monitor and a resident said.

The US and China held "candid and to-the-point" talks at the start of three days of cabinet-level meetings, aimed at managing the highly complex relationship between the world's two biggest economies, a senior US official said.

Greece took a step back from the abyss on June 22 with the presentation of new budget proposals that euro zone leaders welcomed as a basis for a possible agreement in the coming days to unlock frozen aid and avert a looming default.

A Taliban suicide bomber and six gunmen attacked the Afghan parliament on June 22 as lawmakers met to consider a new defense minister, and another district in the volatile north fell to the militants as they intensified a summer offensive.

The European Union welcomed new proposals from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as a "good basis for progress" at talks on June 22 where creditors want 11th-hour concessions to haul Athens back from the brink of bankruptcy.