Eurasia

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 …

Arab Foreign Ministers on Monday started their 143rd session at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo to discuss draft resolutions prepared by the permanent delegates on several issues, mainly the protection of Arab national security. First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah is …

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius held talks here Monday with his Malian counterpart Abdulaye Diop to discuss the latest terror attacks in Mali over the weekend and ways to counter radical operations in northern Mali, official sources said. At least eight people died in two attacks Saturday and Sunday in …

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to hold talks with European Council President Donald Tusk in Washington. The White House has said the two are to discuss the conflict in Ukraine on March 9, among other topics. Violence in eastern Ukraine has dropped sharply in the past two weeks after …