Paris, Berlin urge Poroshenko to press ahead with reforms
Reuters, Berlin :German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande urged Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Sunday to press ahead with reforms to facilitate...
International
Qaeda seizes key army base in northwest Syria
AFP, Beirut :Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate on Monday seized the key army base of Wadi al-Deif in the country’s northwestern province of Idlib from government forces,...
Iran extends visas for 450,000 Afghan refugees
Reuters, Kabul :Iran said it had agreed to extend temporary visas for 450,000 Afghan refugees for six months, lifting a threat to send them back...
Poor hygiene deadly in childbirth
BBC, Tanzania :Many mothers and newborns are dying because of a lack of sanitation, safe water and hygiene while giving birth, leading health experts have...
US Congress passes $584b defence bill
AFP, Washington :The US Congress adopted a massive US defence spending bill for 2015, on Friday, which includes emergency funding for military operations against militants...
Egypt sends 439 to military trials over violence
AP, Cairo :Egypt’s top prosecutor referred 439 people to military tribunals on Saturday for acts of violence including the killing of three policemen last year,...
Little headway in UN push for Palestinian resolution
AFP, United Nations :Negotiations on a UN resolution to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects are making little headway, with Europeans waiting for a US response to...
Baltics up defence spending as Russia buzzes borders
AFP, Riga :Russia’s meddling in Ukraine has delivered a wake-up call on defence spending to small Baltic states which spent half a century under Soviet...
Libyan forces repel Islamist attack on oil region
AFP, Benghazi :Islamist fighters launched a three-pronged attack Saturday on a key oil region in eastern Libya but were pushed back by pro-government forces, military...
Afghan President defiant in face of attacks as foreign troops head home
AP, Kabul :Defying insurgents, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday condemned the wave of militant attacks striking his country ahead of the withdrawal of most...
Britain confirms ‘hundreds’ of extra trainers for Iraq
AFP, London :Britain is likely to increase the number of its forces in Iraq on a training mission to “the very low hundreds”, Defence Secretary...