Greece will launch consultations with Egypt and Greek Cyprus to establish maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on April 29. Tsipras, who was visiting Greek Cyprus, said those boundaries – which are normally a precursor to a state licensing for offshore oil and gas exploration …
Read More »Hollande calls on Lebanon to elect a new president
France opposes foreign intervention in Lebanon but will do its best to encourage the election of a new president as soon as possible, French President François Hollande said Tuesday. “France is ready to take initiative in international gatherings to speed up the presidential election process,” Hollande told Maronite Patriarch Beshara …
Read More »Mali main rebel group pledge to sign peace deal in May
Rebels from northern Mali have told mediators they will initial a long-delayed United Nations-brokered peace proposal on the future of Mali’s north next month, a spokesman for the lead separatist group said late on Sunday. The government, based in the capital Bamako in the country’s south, and another coalition of …
Read More »Mali pro-government armed groups seize northern town of Menaka
Pro-government armed groups in Mali seized the northern town of Menaka from Tuareg separatists on Monday during fierce fighting, a spokesman for the group and a resident said. The clashes come after months of relative calm and risk derailing a fragile United Nations peace process that aims to settle the …
Read More »Poroshenko wants referendum on country's NATO membership
The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has said Thursday that the issue of the country’s NATO membership will be decided by referendum. During an official visit in Paris, France, Poroshenko said NATO membership was one of the “fundamental issues” for Ukraine.
Read More »Ukraine calls on allies for arms supplies
Ukraine urged its allies to send it weapons and accused rebels of persistent ceasefire violations as NATO warned about an increase in Russian troop movement both near and across the border. “The Ukrainian army needs weapons to defend Ukraine,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told lawmakers in Kyiv on Friday. “And …
Read More »Merkel says sanctions on Russia will remain
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held summit talks with the European Union as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expects sanctions against Russia to be renewed over the conflict in Ukraine’s east.
Read More »Report shows over a thousand civilians killed in Yemen by Houthi militias
The head of a local committee tasked with assessing the needs of humanitarian relief for Yemen said that around 1,000 people are registered to have been killed by Houthi militias or their allies. These deaths have been recorded across Aden, Taiz and Dhale’, Izzudine Al-Asbahi said. In Taiz alone, there …
Read More »Niger army base attacked by Boko Haram
Suspected Boko Haram fighters in motorised canoes have attacked a Niger army base on an island in Lake Chad, the body of water touching all four countries that have been targeted by Nigeria’s Islamic insurgency, says Niger’s defense ministry.
Read More »CAR peace forum delayed for start of May
Central African Republic’s transitional government has postponed a peace forum involving factions in a two-year-old conflict that has killed thousands, a statement from parliament said, as the country prepares for elections by the end of the year.
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