Secretary of State John Kerry urged lawmakers Wednesday to give President Barack Obama updated war powers to go after Islamic jihadists at “a pivotal hour” in the battle against the militants. “Our nation is strongest when we act together — and we simply cannot allow this collection of murderers and …

In a meeting with Nasir Ahmad Durrani, the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister, Jean-Michel Marlaud, the French ambassador to Afghanistan said that his country has a long standing relationship with Afghanistan and will continue to help the Afghans by fully cooperating with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation (MRRD) in their …

NATO’s Black Sea members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined four other alliance states in a multinational naval exercise on March 10 just across the water from the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia last year. The naval rapid reaction force in the Black Sea drills consists of a United States flagship, the guided missile cruiser  USS Vicksburg, …

About 15 soldiers from Chad and Niger died in fighting to take control of two towns in northern Nigeria from Boko Haram, the first gains against the militants in a joint offensive launched at the weekend, military sources said on Monday. About 30 Nigerien and Chadian soldiers were wounded in …

Kurdish forces drove Islamic State militants back from the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Monday, in an advance backed by heavy air strikes from a US-led coalition. Speaking to a local television channel near the frontline, Kirkuk governor Najmaldin Karim, who was wearing a helmet, said the …

The US-led anti-terror coalition on Sunday evening struck an oil refinery under the control of the Islamic State (IS) militants in a border Syrian town near Turkey, killing 30 militants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius begins a two day visit to Morocco on Monday. He is to meet Moroccan leaders and discuss bi-lateral issues, trade and terrorism. According to the French foreign ministry, Fabius hopes to stress the issue of cooperation.

Algeria is “reasonably optimistic” about the outcome of the inter-Libyan dialogue which will be held Tuesday in Algiers, said Foreign Affairs Minister Ramtane Lamamra. “We are reasonably optimistic, and work to ensure that the dialogue between the Libyan brothers results in the settlement of the crisis in Libya,” said Lamamra …

The Cairo Court of Appeals set on Monday the first retrial session for former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons over embezzlement charges, due to be held on April 4. Egypt’s Court of Cassation ordered on January 13 a retrial for Mubarak over embezzlement charges for which he has been …

Pakistan on Monday conducted a successful test launch of Shaheen-III Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile, capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 2,750 Kilometers, the military said. According to a press release by Pakistan military’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the test launch was aimed at validating various …