Eurasia

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to a Ukraine peace summit in Minsk on Wednesday to “try everything right to the end,” the French presidency said. The two leaders spoke to each other by phone “for a quick update on the situation”, ahead of flying …

The United States on Feb. 10 denied that it was coordinating air strikes either directly or indirectly with the Syrian regime against Islamic militants and renewed calls for President Bashar al-Assad to go. In an interview with the BBC, Assad said Damascus was being informed about the US-led coalition air …

THE United States, Britain and France said yesterday they were closing their embassies in Yemen amid the turmoil in the wake of the Shiite rebels’ takeover of the country. The closures, which came as Yemen marked four years since the start of its own uprising that eventually ousted its longtime …

U.S. President Barack Obama called for “swift work” by Beijing to narrow their differences on cyber issues, the White House said, as the two sides start planning for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington in September. The world’s two biggest economies have been trying to ease tensions amid mutual …

Over 500 Boko Haram fighters have been killed by Niger’s defence forces supported by Chadian troops between last Friday and Tuesday, eyewitnesses have said. The eyewitnesses and workers of humanitarian agencies said over 200 decomposing bodies of Boko Haram militants were seen strewn all over near Kamadougou river which marks …

The State Department has confirmed that it has closed the US Embassy in Yemen and evacuated its staff because of the political crisis and security concerns following the takeover of much of the country by Shiite rebels. The department announced it had suspended operations at the embassy in Sanaa and …

Niger’s parliament has voted unanimously to send troops to Nigeria to join a regional fight against Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, lawmakers said. “The resolution was passed unanimously. All 102 lawmakers present voted favourably,” lawmaker Mohamed Ben Omar said yesterday. Another member of parliament said the resolution authorises the country …

US President Barack Obama said Monday no decision had been made on whether to send weapons to Ukraine to help Kiev battle pro-Russian separatists, as he warned the West would not allow Russia to redraw Europe’s borders by force. Obama, who has faced increasing calls from domestic critics to supply …

The Malian government will hold an information and consultation meeting on Saturday in Bamako with the living forces of the nation on the “Draft agreement for peace and national reconciliation in Mali” in view of the resumption of inter-Malian inclusive dialogue in Algiers in February, a Malian official source said …

UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura arrived in Syria from Beirut on Monday for talks with officials in Damascus to follow up on efforts at ending the four-year conflict, official media reports said. De Mistura has been trying to facilitate local ceasefires in different areas of Syria since …