The nine member countries on NATO’s eastern flank, the so-called ‘Bucharest Nine’, want the increased presence of that alliance in their region, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced after the group met in Warsaw yesterday, Friday. The Group, which comprises the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Visegrád …

The European Union urged Mali’s government on Monday to respect “freedom of expression” and “show restraint” after dozens of people were hurt in banned opposition protests two months ahead of presidential elections. “The EU stresses the importance of the respect of fundamental freedoms, and in particular the freedom of expression, …

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar said on Monday that victory was near for his forces in Derna, the eastern city held by jihadists since the 2011 armed uprising. Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive on May 7 to “liberate” the coastal city, home to about 150 000 people …

The US military says it has carried out an airstrike in northern Somalia that killed 27 al-Shabaab extremists. The statement issued on Monday by the US Africa command said it assesses that no civilians were killed in the attack on Sunday

Romania is set to receive new ballistic missile defense units as part of US foreign military sales. A $395 million contract modification enables Raytheon IDS to produce a phased array tracking on radar to intercept option fire unit in support of the PATRIOT system. Phased array radar systems are used …

The European Union condemned Tuesday the decision of the Syrian regime to establish diplomatic relations with the “Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” The move “violates international law and the principle of territorial integrity as defined by the United Nations Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” said …

An adviser of the head of Libya’s UN-recognized government based in Tripoli has tweeted that the country’s rival leaders have reached consensus at a Paris meeting to hold both parliamentary and presidential elections in battered Libya on December 10.

French President Emmanuel Macron is lauding the agreement struck between rival Libyan leaders at a Paris meeting as a “crucial step” for the war-battered country. Macron said at a press conference after the gathering concluded in the French capital that this was “the first time these Libyan leaders accepted to …

Up to 13 Islamic State (IS) militants were arrested Monday in their former stronghold of Mosul, a police chief was quoted as saying. “Nineveh police arrested the 13 militants upon accurate intelligence data in al-Entisar, Judaydat al-Mufti and al-Nour districts in Mosul’s eastern side,” Baghdad Today website quoted Nineveh Police …

Tension has returned to the Moroccan-Algerian borders after militants from the Polisario Front launched maneuvers and parades, with the participation of Algerian officers and experts, in the Tifariti, region east of Morocco’s defense wall. Tifariti is located on the Moroccan side of the border with Algeria. Morocco withdrew its military …