April, 2015

• 29 April

  Niger: Dozens of civilians, soldiers killed by Boko Haram attack

  The Niger government said on Tuesday it had lost 46 soldiers and 28 civilians in a Boko Haram attack on a Lake Chad island at the weekend, the country’s heaviest losses yet since it joined a regional offensive against the militants. Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou said “156 terrorists” were also …

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• 29 April

  UN peacekeepers attacked by Tuareg rebels near Timbuktu

  Northern Tuareg rebels shot at United Nations peacekeepers in Mali outside the town of Timbuktu on Tuesday amid growing tensions that threaten a fragile peace process, the country’s UN mission said. “They fired at us and they then called us to tell us that they thought we were [Malian government …

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• 29 April

  Ban stresses urgent need for Mali political settlement

  The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday recent attacks on the UN mission in Mali highlighted the urgent need for a political settlement with rebels in the country’s north. Seven UN peacekeepers were wounded Thursday in the most recent attack about 100km southwest of the northern city of Kidal.

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• 29 April

  Greece to start talks with Egypt, Cyprus on maritime boundaries

  Greece will launch consultations with Egypt and Greek Cyprus to establish maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on April 29. Tsipras, who was visiting Greek Cyprus, said those boundaries – which are normally a precursor to a state licensing for offshore oil and gas exploration …

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• 29 April

  Hollande calls on Lebanon to elect a new president

  France opposes foreign intervention in Lebanon but will do its best to encourage the election of a new president as soon as possible, French President François Hollande said Tuesday. “France is ready to take initiative in international gatherings to speed up the presidential election process,” Hollande told Maronite Patriarch Beshara …

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• 28 April

  Mali main rebel group pledge to sign peace deal in May

  Rebels from northern Mali have told mediators they will initial a long-delayed United Nations-brokered peace proposal on the future of Mali’s north next month, a spokesman for the lead separatist group said late on Sunday. The government, based in the capital Bamako in the country’s south, and another coalition of …

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• 28 April

  Mali pro-government armed groups seize northern town of Menaka

  Pro-government armed groups in Mali seized the northern town of Menaka from Tuareg separatists on Monday during fierce fighting, a spokesman for the group and a resident said. The clashes come after months of relative calm and risk derailing a fragile United Nations peace process that aims to settle the …

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• 28 April

  Poroshenko wants referendum on country's NATO membership

  The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has said Thursday that the issue of the country’s NATO membership will be decided by referendum. During an official visit in Paris, France, Poroshenko said NATO membership was one of the “fundamental issues” for Ukraine.

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• 28 April

  Ukraine calls on allies for arms supplies

  Ukraine urged its allies to send it weapons and accused rebels of persistent ceasefire violations as NATO warned about an increase in Russian troop movement both near and across the border. “The Ukrainian army needs weapons to defend Ukraine,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told lawmakers in Kyiv on Friday. “And …

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• 28 April

  Merkel says sanctions on Russia will remain

  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held summit talks with the European Union as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expects sanctions against Russia to be renewed over the conflict in Ukraine’s east.

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