Section: Cyprus
Six servicemen killed as violence escalates in east Ukraine
Six servicemen were killed and 12 wounded in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal, Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday, as both sides in the conflict accused the other of increasing attacks and building up weapons on the frontline. The mutual recriminations have put further strain on a two-month-old truce between...
Statue row blots Mandela’s post-apartheid vision for South Africa
By Wendell Roelf South Africa’s University of Cape Town will remove a statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes on Thursday, a symbolic step that exposes persistent racial divides two decades after the end of apartheid. The statue at the university, one of Africa’s top academic institutions, has been covered up for the past few weeks...
Iran’s Khamenei says neither rejects, accepts nuclear deal, details key (Updated)
By Parisa Hafezi Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday demanded that all sanctions on Iran be lifted at the same time as any final agreement with world powers on curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme is concluded. Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s most powerful figure and who has the last say on all state matters, was...
Eurozone sets Greece reform deadline ahead of IMF repayment (Updated)
By Jan Strupczewski and George Georgiopoulos Eurozone partners set Greece a deadline of six working days to improve proposed economic reforms in time for finance ministers to consider some emergency funding to keep the country afloat after it makes a repayment to the IMF on Thursday. EU officials said Athens made an urgent plea for cash at a...
Czech government plans to register citizens for military service
By Robert Muller The Czech government plans to create a register of citizens who could be called up for military service, in response to growing concerns over threats from Islamic State and insecurity in Ukraine, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Thursday. Sobotka said the move would not amount to the reintroduction of compulsory military...
Athens has not asked for money from Moscow (Updated)
By Renee Maltezou Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras began talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as his indebted country scrambles for funds, but officials said Athens had not asked for money from Moscow. Greece owes billions of euros in debt and interest payments and is looking for funds after failing so far to reach a deal...
A region burns amid lack of leadership and old hatreds
By Farid Mirbagheri The Middle East is aflame with war, carnage and instability. Syria is ceaselessly ravaged by a devastating civil war, where longevity and stalemate have somewhat mitigated the horror of the tragedy in the eyes of the world media. Iraq, beleaguered by violence for over a decade, is fighting ISIL to reassert its sovereignty and...
Ukraine expects to sign gas memorandum with Russia by April 14
By Alessandra Prentice Ukraine, locked in a longstanding pricing row with Russia over gas, hopes to sign a memorandum with Moscow on supplies that will run until the end of March 2016, its energy minister said on Wednesday. Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbour agreed last year on a “winter package” for supplies with a price discount of $100 per...
Poland says will train 50 Ukrainian military staff this year
Poland will provide training to around 50 Ukrainian army instructors this year, the Polish ministry of defence said on Tuesday, a part of NATO’s efforts to boost Ukraine’s defence capacity as it faces a pro-Russian rebellion in the east. The Ukrainians will be trained in Poland, the ministry said in a statement, with the courses...
Setbacks and progress as Iran, six powers meet to end nuclear impasse (Updated)
By Parisa Hafezi, John Irish and Louis Charbonneau The foreign ministers of Iran and six world powers met on Monday in a final push for a preliminary nuclear accord less than two days before their deadline as Tehran showed signs of backing away from previous compromise offers. For days Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and...
