U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders held a video conference on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, and France said all agreed that a “strong reaction” would be necessary if the ceasefire reached last month in Minsk was violated. The talk held at 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT) between …

Backed by allied Shiite and Sunni fighters, Iraqi security forces on Monday began a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), state TV said, a major step in a campaign to reclaim a large swath of territory in northern Iraq controlled by …

Moncef Mongi, head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), one of the international organizations involved in the inclusive inter-Malian dialogue, said that the signing Sunday, in Algiers, of the agreement for peace and reconciliation in Mali represents a sound basis for a lasting peace and …