Eurasia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the latest Franco-German initiative to end the deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine “remains uncertain” but was “worth trying” given the ongoing bloodshed. “I believe we owe this, above all, to the people of Ukraine affected by the conflict,” she told the 51st Munich Security …

Nigeria’s electoral commission has postponed the Feb 14 presidential election by six weeks over concerns about the security situation in the country, a media report said Sunday. Commission chief Attahiru Jega said he has been informed that the troops would not be available to help patrol the ballot because they …

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plan to meet Saturday to discuss the escalating Ukraine conflict at this year’s Munich Security Conference in Germany. The U.S. has accused Russia of directly intervening on behalf of pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. The meeting comes at a …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande head to Moscow on Friday to secure President Vladimir Putin´s support for a peace plan to end surging separatist violence in the east. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said talks with Merkel and Hollande late Thursday raised “hope for a ceasefire” after …

Tunisia’s new president pledged a rule of reconciliation and consensus as he took his oath Wednesday before the newly elected parliament to complete the country’s democratic transition. The inauguration of Beji Caid Essebsi, an 88-year-old political veteran, comes in a year in which Tunisians wrote a new constitution and elected …

Seven soldiers have been killed as clashes erupted in the centre of Libya’s main eastern city Benghazi on Thursday, with pro-government forces pushing to take the port district from Islamist militants. The fighting mirrors a wider struggle in the oil-producing North African state where two governments and parliaments, allied to …

The European Union has pledged one billion euros in funding for the crises in Syria and Iraq and the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said. “This package will strengthen our actions to help restore peace and …

Kurdish militants have wrestled control of 65 villages in Kobane’s countryside from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) control since Jan. 26 in northern Syria, according to a Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) source. “Kurdish fighters are advancing rapidly because they know their area geographically very well and …

French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius on Thursday met the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here. Fabius, accompanied by a delegation of fellow dignitaries, started his official trip to India today. According to reports, Fabius will also be holding meetings with Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu …

Pro-Russia rebels and the Ukrainian authorities agreed on Friday on a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the epicentre of fighting in eastern Ukraine, rebel and government officials said, as German and French leaders prepared to bring their peace plan to Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois …