In a nationally-televised ceremony, Egypt and France signed on Monday evening a deal whereby Cairo purchased 24 French Rafale jet fighters French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drianarrives had arrivted at Egypt’s Ittihadeya presidential palace in Cairo to seal the deal with his Egyptian counterpart Sedky Sobhi.

The Egyptian armed forces carried out an airstrike on the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ in Libya. They hit camps, training sites, and ammunition and weaponry warehouses after 21 Coptic Egyptians were killed on Saturday. The strike, conducted in the early hours of Monday “hit its targets accurately”, an armed forces statement …

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Monday that his country reserves the right to respond at the proper time to the killing of 21 Coptic Egyptians in Libya by Islamic State (IS) militants. The president said that Egypt would be able to defeat terrorism because “Egypt is defending humanity”. On …

Turkey decided to shut its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, and evacuate its diplomatic staff as a result of the worsening security situation in the country. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had issued a new travel warning for Turkish citizens on Saturday, urging them to leave Yemen immediately.

The United States will keep extra forces in Europe to bolster NATO defenses and monitor new movements of Russian tanks in east Ukraine as a cease-fire deadline approaches, officials said Thursday. “We are concerned about reports that the fighting continues,” said a senior Obama administration official. “We are also concerned …

The United Nations High Commission of Refugees UNHCR stressed on Friday that the violence in north-eastern Nigeria has forced more than 157,000 people to flee into the neighboring countries. This large number needs providing urgent aid to the hosting countries – Niger, Chad and Cameroon – to face challenges due …

France repeated its position on Friday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad must step down as part of any political transition aimed at finding a solution to the Syrian conflict. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal reiterated the French position after UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said that Al-Assad “is …

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned in a statement the attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar in Pakistan during Friday prayers, which has reportedly killed at least 19 people and injured dozens. The attack killed Naveed Abbas, a Pakistan national working with the UN Department of Safety and Security, …

European Union Foreign Affairs Council, met recently in Brussels, stressed EU’s commitment to international mediation led by Algeria to reach a political, all-inclusive and lasting solution in Mali, the ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a statement. The council underlined that “EU remains committed to the international mediation, led …

European powers warned Russia it risked fresh sanctions if a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the 10-month war between Ukraine troops and pro-Moscow rebels was not implemented. The agreement to end the nearly year-long conflict, which has killed thousands and ratcheted East-West tensions to highs not seen since the Cold …