Eurasia

Up to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine over the past two months, and at least several hundred have apparently died in combat there, rights groups exposing army abuses told AFP on Sept. 1.

Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen on Sunday broke a six-week siege imposed by the Islamic State extremist group on the northern Shiite Turkmen town of Amirli, as a suicide bombing killed 14 people in Anbar western province, officials said.

Syrian troops battled rebels hard by the armistice line with Israel on the Golan Heights today as the United Nations pressed efforts to free 44 peacekeepers held by the insurgents. Several mortar rounds struck close to the ceasefire line as the combatants exchanged rocket, mortar and tank fire near the …

Sameh Shoukry headed to Europe on Sunday with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and economic ties with visits to Berlin, Paris and Rome. The foreign minister is expected to meet French President Francois Hollande and consult with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and members of the French business community, according …

Afghanistan and the USA have signed a long-delayed agreement to allow international forces to stay in the country beyond 2014. In a low-key ceremony at the presidential palace, the Afghan national security adviser and the US ambassador signed the bilateral security agreement in the presence of the new Afghan president, …

Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif agreed Thursday on measures to resume the stalled negotiations, aimed at resolving the political crisis.

Egypt opened an investigation into deposed president Mohamed Morsi for delivering “documents relevant to national security” to Qatar. Morsi is already facing the death penalty in several trials and his supporters have been the target of a bloody crackdown by the authorities that has left more than 1 400 dead …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday that the European Union will discuss further sanctions against Russia on its special summit in Brussels on Saturday, according to a statement of the German

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday blamed Russia for the violence in eastern Ukraine, threatening “more costs” for Moscow. The president told reporters at the White House that he spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the phone about the situation in Ukraine, as Kiev and the West were accusing …

Ukraine’s president called an emergency meeting of the nation’s security council and canceled a foreign trip on Thursday, declaring that “Russian forces have entered Ukraine,” as concerns grew about the opening of a new front in the conflict. President Petro Poroshenko summoned the council as the strategic southeastern Ukraine town …