Eurasia

Senior EU diplomat Bernardino León said that the organisation had been trying ‘for months’ prior to Morsi’s ouster to persuade the Brotherhood to share power. León, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, said that that there is a “big gap between both sides” but that there are “signs of hope.”

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and National Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev have agreed that there is a real risk of a mightier protest wave in the country in the autumn, after the summer recess of Parliament, if the demands of the demonstrators remain unheard.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held two phone conversations with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the latest developments in Syria and Egypt.

US Secretary of State John Kerry began talks with Pakistan’s new government on Thursday, likely to be dominated by the fight against Islamist militants as US troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

The United States still plans to hold a major military exercise called Bright Star in Egypt in mid-September, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday, even after the Egyptian military’s toppling of the president

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for talks with Egypt’s interim government and backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The Serbian parliament could hold a session on August 26 to debate amendments to the Law on Ministries and ministerial resignations and new appointments. This would be part of the government

As recently as March 2013, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, invoked the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and nostalgically spoke of the time when Yemen and Skopje were part of the same country.[i]This denoted a feeling of power and influence which the Turkish government was experiencing at the time, …

The United States opposes arbitrary arrests and detentions, and believes that those in Egypt who have been arrested and not charged should be released, White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

Former Malian Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubakar Keita maintains the lead over former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse, an administrator said. Mali held the first round of presidential elections Sunday.