Eurasia

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar visited neighbouring Tunisia on Monday for talks with President Beji Caid Essebsi, who offered to act as a mediator between rival Libyan factions. Libya, which plunged into chaos after the ouster and killing of dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011, has two rival governments and parliaments, …

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States expressed their commitment to eliminate Daesh from the region, which could best be achieved through information sharing, complementary efforts and enhanced cooperation. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the tripartite (Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States) counter Daesh and Pak-Afghan bilateral military cooperation

US-backed Syrian opposition factions will not let forces backing the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad cross the Euphrates River in their bid to recover eastern Syria, their commander said. Syrian opposition commander Abu Khawla said a civilian administration would be set up to run areas of Deir al-Zor province being …

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) planned referendum on independence was “unconstitutional” on Tuesday, hours after parliament voted against the regional plebiscite. “I call upon the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude the dialogue,” Abadi said in a press conference. Abadi’s remarks came …

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the terrorist attacks in southern Iraq and called for the perpetrators to be quickly brought to justice. In a statement from his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed “his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Iraq.”

The US and UAE’s ground forces will begin a joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as part of efforts to consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise. Code-named Iron Union 5, the drill is an extension of a series of Iron Claw exercises, which the …

The United States on Friday strongly urged northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to call off a controversial referendum on independence from Baghdad. The announcement comes hours after the KRG parliament voted to hold the poll next week despite opposition from the central government and Iraq’s neighbours.

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution welcoming recent efforts to bring opposing sides together in Libya – a conflict that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says is ripe for mediation to end years of chaos and restore peace.

Warplanes from allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia have begun joint war games that are coinciding with separate drills between Egypt and both the United States and Russia. Thursday’s announcement by Egypt’s official MENA news agency says the Saudi-Egyptian games are being held in Egypt and will last several days. It …

The second Indo-Afghan Strategic Partnership Council meeting was held in New Delhi on Monday. At the meeting, both countries held extensive talks and discussed political relations, security issues, development and cultural cooperation, investments and reviewing challenges in mutual relations. Afghanistan minister of foreign affairs also met with Indian national security …