Lebanon received today the first batch of French armaments under a Saudi-financed deal worth US$3 billion to boost the country’s defensive capabilities. The handing over ceremony was held at Beirut Air Base and attended by Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Sameer Muqbel, French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le …

French President Francois Hollande on Monday “expressed indignation” after reports that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) executed 28 Christians in Libya because of their faith. Hollande “condemned in the firmest manner the abuses committed by Daesh (ISIL) against civilian populations, no matter what their origin or …

Clashes between rebels and pro-government forces and Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 85 people in Yemen, medics and military sources said today, after Riyadh pledged to fund a UN aid appeal. The United Nations says hundreds of people have died and thousands of families have fled their homes since …

French President Francois Hollande said April 19 that negotiations with Moscow were under way to find a solution to a dispute over the sale of two Mistral warships, frozen over the Ukraine crisis. “We are busy negotiating a solution to the crisis,” over the 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion) sale, …

Pakistan on Thursday expressed readiness to help in implementation of a UN Security Council resolution on Yemen which banned arms supply to the Shia Houthi rebels in the war-torn country. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting on the Yemen situation here. According to an official statement, the meeting …

Over 2,000 families have been forced to flee the Iraqi city of Ramadi owing to heavy clashes between the Islamic State (IS) militants and government forces. Most of the displaced families headed to capital Baghdad and settled in predominantly Sunni districts in southern and western Baghdad, a security source said.

At least 76 people were killed in Yemen today as Saudi-led warplanes pounded rebels heading to bolster an assault on loyalists in Aden and fighting raged in Taez, officials said. At least 20 rebels were killed, and two tanks and four armoured vehicles destroyed, in the overnight air strikes on …

French President Francois Hollande will discuss the Ukraine crisis with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a visit to Armenia on April 24. A source in Hollande’s office said April 17 that Putin and Hollande will attend a ceremony in Yerevan marking the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on Malian parties to sign the peace agreement signed on March 1 in Algiers by the Malian government and three Malian armed groups, saying it is the best way to achieving peace and national reconciliation in Mali.

UN envoy Bernardino Leon on Thursday shuttled between delegates of Libya’s rival parliaments in Morocco as he pushed for a unity government to stem growing unrest in their country. Libya has been divided since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with rival governments and parliaments and armed groups …