France’s Rafale fighter jets have struck a training center of the Islamic State (IS) militant group overnight in Iraqi city of Kirkuk, French army’s chief staff Peter de Villiers said on Friday. As part of the coalition military offensive to halt the militants’ advance, French aircraft dropped 70 bombs, of which 12 were laser-guided, to […]

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Algerian President AbdelAziz Boutaflika to discuss a potential Joint Higher Committee addressing the Libyan crisis. During the meeting, Shoukry and Boutaflika also discussed other regional issues, according to a statement the Foreign Affairs released on Friday.

The US expressed its hope to see “wide participation in the elections by all Ukrainians, including in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk,” when they go to vote new legislative representatives to parliament on Sunday. “This is another milestone for a nation that is again demonstrating its commitment to an enduring democratic process despite the political upheaval […]

Hours ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to India- controlled Kashmir, border guards of India and Pakistan Thursday fired on each other’s posts along the international border (IB) in Kashmir for second straight day, officials said. The exchange of fire between two sides was reported from IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday (Oct 23) that 200 Iraqi Kurd peshmerga fighters would travel through Turkey to the flashpoint Syrian border town of Kobane under assault by the Islamic State (IS) group. The regional administration in northern Iraq and Syrian Kurdish group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) “finally agreed according to […]

“We respect Armenia’s decision to join the Eurasian Economic Union and hope that it will not hinder the development of relations with the EU,” German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. Touching upon the forthcoming Sargyan-Aliyev meeting scheduled for October 27 the German FM […]

The Turkish government and the Kurdish political movement have sounded a note of optimism for the future of the stalled peace process, with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu suggesting that the process could reach a settlement within the next few months if all actors involved fulfill their roles. “Now there is a road map that we have designated. […]

 Iraqi security forces and allied tribal fighters rebuffed an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in a town near the Iraqi capital Baghdad, but were forced to withdraw from another embattled town after two days of fierce clashes in the country’s western province of Anbar, security sources said on Thursday. In the early hours of […]

The Egyptian Police Academy will train 155 middle ranking officers from 14 African countries in security and counter terrorism between 19 October and 13 November, said a foreign ministry statement. The trainings are part of the Egypt Agency for Development Partnerships initiatives to “transfer expertise to African countries in the area of security and to […]

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry flew to Algeria to meet with his Algerian counterpart to discuss regional issues, focusing on the Libyan crisis, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday. Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty said the two ministries will discuss a number of regional issues, but that the Libyan […]

The UN Security Council on Friday called on Mali’s warring parties “to engage in good faith and in the spirit of compromise” towards a comprehensive and inclusive peace deal as they are set to resume peace talks in Algeria. The peace talks between the Malian government and rebels is set to resume in the Algerian […]

The outgoing President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has said that the “Islamic State” represents today the biggest threat to “civilisation and our model of society”. Europe needs to be part of the international efforts to defeat and uproot it.” Barroso wrote this in a book about his experiences as the head of […]

US military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria on Monday and Tuesday using fighter and bomber aircraft to conduct four airstrikes, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced. Separately, US and partner nation forces conducted three airstrikes using fighter and attack aircraft against ISIL terrorists in Iraq, the announcement said.

Sitting in one of the last buildings still intact after months of fighting near Benghazi’s airport, Libyan army special forces commander Wanis Bukhamada presides over a world of destruction. His forces managed to stop an offensive of Islamist armed groups trying to take the airport in Benina, some 25km south of the eastern city – […]

Russia, Ukraine and the EU began crunch gas talks on Oct. 21 to resolve a bitter price dispute and end fears that Moscow could halt crucial energy supplies to Europe this winter. The high-stakes meeting between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, his Ukrainian counterpart Yuri Prodan and European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger began as planned, a commission spokeswoman said. “We had […]

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Peshmerga forces of Iraqi Kurdish Government have not entered Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, through Turkey. “The talks about the issue are still ongoing,” he said in a televised interview, giving no further details. It has been reported that there are differences between Iraqi […]

The Cairo Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peace Building in Africa has hosted Libyan tribal elders and leaders in Cairo as an opportunity to “reunite and overcome the current crisis”. The tribal officials from across Libya participated in three days of talks in Cairo, which began on Sunday. The centre said in a Tuesday statement […]

Kurdish fighters in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobane weathered a fresh onslaught by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as they awaited promised reinforcements from Iraq. The Kurdish militia faced fierce attacks on Tuesday, fresh from heavy battles on Monday evening in which IS appeared to be trying […]

Bombings in and near Baghdad killed 19 people today, the latest in near-daily attacks targeting the Iraqi capital as the country’s Shiite-led government grapples with a rampant Sunni insurgency by the Islamic State group. Police officials said the deadliest attack took place today afternoon when a double car bomb attack hit Habaybina restaurant in the […]

The new U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, presented his credentials to PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 20. Ambassador Bass also paid a courtesy visit to Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinilirlioğlu on the same day, two days after his arrival to Ankara.

The EU Monday voiced concern by the situation in Libya and said it is having a negative impact across North Africa and the Sahel region and is of concern for the EU as well. The EU Foreign Affairs Council after its meeting in Luxembourg today strongly condemned the ongoing violence, all human rights abuses and […]

NATO war games started in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Monday, with the armies of 13 countries participating, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement. NATO drills are mainly meant to develop enhance the capacity of the NATO countries to work together and cooperate, it said, adding that Turkey is expected to participate […]

Nine people were killed on Sunday in new violence in Benghazi where pro-government forces have launched an offensive against Islamist militias, raising the toll to 75 dead in five days, medics said. In the latest violence a woman was killed in a bomb attack that targeted the vacant house of former general Khalifa Haftar, the […]

Ukrainian officials on Monday reported more deaths among government troops and independence-seeking insurgents over the past 24 hours in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, said that two pro-government fighters from volunteer battalions and an unspecified number of Ukrainian army soldiers were killed when rebels ambushed […]

n a significant shift, Turkey’s top diplomat announced on Monday that his country is helping Iraqi Kurdish fighters cross into Syria to “give support” to fellow Kurds defending the border town of Kobane from Islamic State militants.

Weapons, ammunition and medical supplies has been airdropped to Kurdish forces defending the Syrian city of Kobani against Islamic State militants, the U.S. military said. The airdrops on Sunday were the first of their kind and followed weeks of U.S. and coalition airstrikes in and near Kobani, near the Turkish border. The

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with his Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir at the Presidential Palace on Saturday to discuss bilateral relations, according to a Presidential statement on Sunday. Presidents Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir also discussed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as well as the situations in Libya, Syria, and Iraq as part of the […]

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry welcomed on Sunday the formation of a new Iraqi unity government charged with fighting a rising Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) insurgency. The Iraqi parliament has appointed new Ministers of Defence and Interior, a Sunni and Shi’a respectively. It is seen as a move that “allows Iraq to move […]

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Russia on a provisional price for gas deliveries during the coming winter months. Poroshenko yesterday said the deal was agreed at talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Milan on Friday, and he hoped it would end the gas dispute between the […]

Vice President Joe Biden has spoken with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca about bilateral relations and developments in the region. Biden “underscored his support for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as its European integration path, and noted the importance of continuing to fight against corruption and improve the business climate,” said a statement

Turkey is launching a new communication strategy to support its bid for EU membership. The new strategy, intended to reverse the decline in public opinion support for Turkey’s membership in the EU, the country, will reinforce the value of Turkey’s participation, according to the country’s ministry of EU Affairs.

NATO said today it saw no sign of any significant Russian pullback from Ukraine’s border, despite President Vladimir Putin ordering thousands of troops to withdraw ahead of truce talks. “We would welcome the withdrawal of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, as this would be a step in the right direction. But for the […]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called on the Russian government to honor obligations it had made for implementing a recently-reached truce in Ukraine between separatists and Kiev. The Chancellor, in a statement at the Bundestag, said the Moscow government bears bulk of the responsibility of defusing the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Serbia and Russia have strong political ties. He underscored that Moscow’s position on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija will not change and that Russia insists on it being resolved in line with UNSC Resolution 1244.

The US military continued to attack ISIL terrorists near Kobane Wednesday and Thursday in 14 airstrikes using bomber and fighter aircraft, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). “These airstrikes are designed to interdict ISIL reinforcements and resupply and prevent ISIL from massing combat power on the Kurdish held portions of Kobane, ” affirmed a […]