Monthly Archives: February 2015

Chinese FM visits Pakistan

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday arrived in Pakistan to hold bilateral talks, promote economic and trade cooperation and discuss the regional situation. During the two-day visit, Wang Yi, who is leading an eight-member delegation, will meet Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj …

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Poroshenko, Merkel, Hollande, Putin start talks on Ukraine peace

The four leaders have started talks on the Ukraine settlement. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have gathered at the Independence Palace in Minsk for their meeting. Almost 500 journalists had gathered to cover the summit. They could see …

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Malian PM calls for swift agreement in Algiers peace negotiations

Mali’s Prime Minister Modibo Keita urged a swift agreement in negotiations with rebels restarting this week in Algiers, saying progress was “looking very good” toward a definitive peace deal in the north. Attempts to reach an accord between Mali’s government and the mostly Tuareg rebel movements demanding more autonomy in …

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Heavy clashes erupt in Benghazi

Troops loyal to Libya’s internationally backed government launched a new offensive to seize the extremist-held city of Benghazi, as witnesses saw corpses on the streets Sunday and ambulances racing by. Information over what was happening in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, remained unclear, though a medical official at al-Jalaa hospital, one …

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Hollande, Merkel push for Ukraine peace

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to a Ukraine peace summit in Minsk on Wednesday to “try everything right to the end,” the French presidency said. The two leaders spoke to each other by phone “for a quick update on the situation”, ahead of flying …

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US rejects claims that it is coordinating airstrikes in Syria with Assad

The United States on Feb. 10 denied that it was coordinating air strikes either directly or indirectly with the Syrian regime against Islamic militants and renewed calls for President Bashar al-Assad to go. In an interview with the BBC, Assad said Damascus was being informed about the US-led coalition air …

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UK, France also close their Yemen embassies

THE United States, Britain and France said yesterday they were closing their embassies in Yemen amid the turmoil in the wake of the Shiite rebels’ takeover of the country. The closures, which came as Yemen marked four years since the start of its own uprising that eventually ousted its longtime …

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Chinese President to meet Obama in September

U.S. President Barack Obama called for “swift work” by Beijing to narrow their differences on cyber issues, the White House said, as the two sides start planning for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington in September. The world’s two biggest economies have been trying to ease tensions amid mutual …

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Niger army battles Boko Haram

Over 500 Boko Haram fighters have been killed by Niger’s defence forces supported by Chadian troops between last Friday and Tuesday, eyewitnesses have said. The eyewitnesses and workers of humanitarian agencies said over 200 decomposing bodies of Boko Haram militants were seen strewn all over near Kamadougou river which marks …

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US closes its Yemen embassy over violence escalation

The State Department has confirmed that it has closed the US Embassy in Yemen and evacuated its staff because of the political crisis and security concerns following the takeover of much of the country by Shiite rebels. The department announced it had suspended operations at the embassy in Sanaa and …

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