Eurasia

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar said on Monday that victory was near for his forces in Derna, the eastern city held by jihadists since the 2011 armed uprising. Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive on May 7 to “liberate” the coastal city, home to about 150 000 people …

The US military says it has carried out an airstrike in northern Somalia that killed 27 al-Shabaab extremists. The statement issued on Monday by the US Africa command said it assesses that no civilians were killed in the attack on Sunday

A spokeswoman for the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday that Iran’s decision did not constitute a breach of the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “However, at this particularly critical juncture, they will not contribute to build confidence in …

Romania is set to receive new ballistic missile defense units as part of US foreign military sales. A $395 million contract modification enables Raytheon IDS to produce a phased array tracking on radar to intercept option fire unit in support of the PATRIOT system. Phased array radar systems are used …

The European Union condemned Tuesday the decision of the Syrian regime to establish diplomatic relations with the “Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” The move “violates international law and the principle of territorial integrity as defined by the United Nations Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” said …

The 22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) started work on Thursday in the Russian port city with Iranian representatives in attendance.

Ali Akbar Salehi, director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, announced on Saturday that the European Union had made proposals and also taken initial steps to use euro in transactions with Iran.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday the U.S. has put forward totally unacceptable demands to Iran, criticizing the U.S. government for its policy of “ultimatums” and “threats” towards Iran.

European officials criticized US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for demanding dramatic changes in Iran’s foreign and nuclear policies, with European Union top diplomat rejecting any alternative to the 2015 nuclear agreement. The EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned Monday there was “no alternative” to the Joint Comprehensive Plan …

Up to 13 Islamic State (IS) militants were arrested Monday in their former stronghold of Mosul, a police chief was quoted as saying. “Nineveh police arrested the 13 militants upon accurate intelligence data in al-Entisar, Judaydat al-Mufti and al-Nour districts in Mosul’s eastern side,” Baghdad Today website quoted Nineveh Police …