Eurasia

NATO was set Thursday to agree a major boost to its defences in eastern Europe including six bases and a spearhead force of 5,000 troops in response to what it called Russian aggression in Ukraine. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that the moves likely to be approved by defence ministers …

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday welcomed the visit by French President Francois Hollande with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with a new peace initiative amid escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine. “NATO fully supports all efforts to reach a negotiated peaceful solution to the conflict …

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel Thursday ruled out a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine. “This issue is not going to be resolved militarily,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels. “This issue , the Russian aggression in Ukraine has …

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi received Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal Thursday, at the Residence of State in Zeralda, Algiers. The audience was attended by Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, Minister of Energy Youcef Yousfi and Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel. The Tunisian president started a two-day state …

Algeria and Benin expressed satisfaction at the efforts of the international mediation, led by Algeria, for the resolution of the crisis in Mali, said Wednesday a joint statement issued at the end of the state visit of Beninese President Thomas

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an end to a years-old nightly curfew in Baghdad in a bid to ease restrictions on daily life despite persistent violence, officials said Feb. 5. Lifting the curfew is a major change to a longstanding policy aimed at curbing violence in the capital …

The leaders of France and Germany were carrying a new peace initiative to the Ukrainian and Russian capitals on Thursday, amid a flurry of high-level diplomacy to end what French President Francois Hollande called a war on Europe’s edge.

The Wednesday trial of ousted former president Mohamed Morsi for escaping Wadi El-Natrun Prison in January 2011 was postponed to 5 February, state media reported. The defence repeated its request to the Cairo Criminal Court for the introduction of new defendants and questioned the possibility that “Israeli elements” committed these …

Terming India as an important “net provider of security” in the region, US President Barack Obama’s pick for Defence Secretary has said strengthening defence ties and expanding collaboration on military technology with the country would be his top priority. “India and the United States have built a strong strategic partnership. …

US Vice-President Joe Biden will huddle with leaders from Germany and Ukraine on an upcoming visit to Europe, as allies plot a response to increased violence in Ukraine. Biden later this week will travel to Belgium and Germany, where he will attend a high-profile security conference in Munich. “This will …