The Turkish government has publicly declared its demand that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) lay down arms on the Nevruz festival, which is marked on March 21, underlining that the jailed PKK leader’s 2014 Nevruz message needed to be developed further this year. “On this Nevruz, laying down arms …

EU moves to increase sanctions on Russia – Attempt to force all sides to the negotiating table. France says European Union sanctions against separatists in eastern Ukraine and their Russian backers will be reinforced in an attempt to force all sides back to the negotiating table. French European Affairs Minister …

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that he wanted relations with India based on equality and mutual respect, values which are vital for peace in the region, a media report said. In a meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit in Islamabad, Mr. Sharif said that …

Asserting that it has no territorial ambitions, India today said it wants to resolve all issues with China with “honesty” and asked the China government to come forward to end the “perceptional differences” over the border. Home Minister Rajnath Singh also sounded unperturbed by the increasing cooperation and friendship between China and …

Turkey has strongly condemned Egypt over its disproportionate use of force on protesters wanting to mark the fourth anniversary of their Jan. 25 revolution and expressing condolences to families of those killed during the protests in 2011. “It is impossible for the Egyptian administration to provide stability and security to …

 The Ukrainian government has declared a state of emergency in the eastern part of the country. “The Ukrainian government has decided to institute the state of emergency in Donetsk and Luhansk,” said the prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who spoke after a cabinet meeting in Kiev. Yatsenyuk also announced that a special commission chaired …

Leaders of the 28-member EU Tuesday expressed concern about the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine. “We condemn the killing of civilians during the indiscriminate shelling of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on 24 January 2015. We note evidence of continued and growing support given to the separatists …

At least 76 militants including foreigners were killed in fresh air strikes on Tuesday carried by Pakistan military in North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said military. A statement by Pakistan military’s Inter Services Public Relations said that precise aerial strikes targeting militant hideouts in Datta Khel area of North …

Turkey’s border with Syria has again witnessed tension in the wake of Kurdish forces’ success in driving jihadists from Kobane, with Ankara contrastingly attracting international applause and domestic opprobrium over the affair. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, meanwhile, slammed the Kurdish parties fighting there for ruining the town, once home …

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif felicitated the people of India on Republic Day and reiterated Islamabad’s desire for cordial relations between the two countries, in a letter to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi. “Pakistan remains committed to developing cordial relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect …