UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has spoken with Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, about the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine and continuing international efforts to mediate a peace in the war-torn region, a United Nations spokesperson has confirmed.

The signing of the peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali, scheduled for 15 May in Bamako, will open a “new page” in the history of this country, which is seeking stability, security and development. Signed in Algiers on March 1st by the government of Mali and the political-military groups of …

An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted president Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting the killings of protestors outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012. However, Morsi and all other 14 defendants in the case were acquitted of committing premeditated murder and possessing weapons. This is …

French President Francois Hollande says France will refund payments made by Russia for two Mistral amphibious-assault ships if the warships are not delivered because of Moscow’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Hollande said in Paris after talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on April 22 that he will discuss the …

Vice President Joe Biden spoke on Monday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko about the situation in the east and Ukraine’s reform agenda, the Office of the Vice President announced. Biden informed Poroshenko that the United States will provide the government of Ukraine with an additional 17.7 million dollars in humanitarian …

Nine Kenyan security officials from Garissa have been suspended and could face charges of criminal negligence over the massacre at the town’s university earlier this month, the government announced on Tuesday. Militants from Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab rebels attacked the university in the northeastern town of Garissa on April 2, lining …

The UN Security Council is set to push for more intensive negotiations to settle the decades-old dispute over Western Sahara, at the centre of tensions between Morocco and African countries. A draft resolution under discussion this week extends the mandate of the MINURSO peace mission for a year and calls …

A Saudi-led coalition declared an end April 21 to four weeks of air strikes in Yemen, saying it had eliminated the threat posed by Iran-backed rebels, as Washington welcomed the move and urged talks to end the crisis. Despite the claims of success in a campaign launched by Sunni Arab …

French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian stressed Monday the interrelation between the security and stability of Europe, on one hand, and that of the Middle East and the Arab region on the other. The situations in the Arab region impact not only on the French nationals in the region …

India and France aim to finalise the deal for 36 Dassault Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of May, according to defence industry sources. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is believed to have insisted on this deadline with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in Paris, …