Eurasia

The US has accused Russian forces and separatist rebels of violating the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, after fierce fighting around the strategic town of Debaltseve threatened the latest attempt to end the bloody 10-month conflict. US Vice President Joe Biden “strongly condemned the violation of the ceasefire by separatist forces …

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan decided Monday to withdraw the two protocols on normalization of relations with Turkey from the parliament. Over the last six years the two documents remained as mere ink on paper after they were signed in 2009 due to “lack of political will” on the Turkish side, …

Pro-Russian rebels bombarded government troops encircled in east Ukraine yesterday and a plan for both sides to pull back their heavy guns stalled, pushing a fragile peace deal closer to collapse. A witness near the front line said artillery rounds rocked the town of Debaltseve every five seconds and black …

Turkey and the United States have hammered out a deal for providing training and equipment to moderate opposition groups in Syria, a Turkish spokesman said here on Tuesday. Both sides are set to sign an agreement for a training and equipping program for Syrian opposition in the next few days, …

Egypt’s armed forces announced late Monday the deployment of its forces in all governorates nationwide to “protect public and private properties, secure roads … and contribute to the capture of criminals and outlaws.” Armed Forces Spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a statement that the deployment comes to carry out the …

Algeria condemned “in the strongest possible terms the despicable” murder by ISIS organization Daech of Egyptian innocent citizens in Libya, recalling its “firm” position rejecting terrorism in all its forms and aspects, said a communiqué of the Foreign Ministry.

A Libyan air force commander said 40 to 50 militants were killed in Monday’s air strikes against ISIS targets in Libya. “There are casualties among the individuals, ammunition and the communication centres belonging to them,” Saqer al-Joroushi said on Egyptian state television. “The number of deaths are not less than …

An Egyptian military court will try deposed president Mohamed Morsi and 198 Islamist leaders and supporters over a deadly protest in 2013 following his overthrow, a prosecution source said Feb. 18 The defendants in the trial, which will start on February 23, also include Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that Turkey and Pakistan will “continue their cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terror and Islamophobia” around the world. “We have a common position regarding terrorism and all Islamophobic attacks in different parts of the world,” Davutoğlu told a joint press conference …

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi demanded the lifting of the arms embargo on Libyan so that its army can defend the country. The comments were made during an interview with France’s Europe 1 channel, aired Tuesday.