Section: Egypt Independent (Egypt)
NATO invites Montenegro to join alliance, defying Russia
NATO invited tiny Montenegro on Wednesday to join the military alliance in its first expansion since 2009, defying Russian warnings that enlargement of the US-led bloc further into the Balkans is “irresponsible” action that undermines trust. In a scripted session at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Montenegro’s Foreign...
CNN: ‘The shoes are marching for us’
Editor’s note: CNN columnist John D. Sutter is reporting on a tiny number — 2 degrees — that may have a huge effect on the future. He’d like your help. Subscribe to the “2 degrees” newsletter or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He’s jdsutter on Snapchat. You can shape this coverage. A...
Declaring ‘new beginning’, EU and Turkey seal migrant deal
Turkey promised to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the EU in a deal struck on Sunday that the Turkish prime minister called a “new beginning” for the uneasy neighbours. Leaders of the European Union met Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels on Sunday to finalise an...
Russia-Ukraine row over Crimea escalates as Moscow cuts coal to Kiev
Russia has begun to restrict coal supplies to Ukraine, Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn told parliament on Friday, days after the Kremlin threatened to punish Kiev for a power blackout of Russian-annexed Crimea. Demchyshyn said pro-Russian separatists who control coal mines in eastern Ukraine had also halted coal supplies. He said Kiev had...
Russia seeks economic revenge against Turkey over jet
Russia threatened economic retaliation against Turkey on Thursday and said it was still awaiting a reasonable explanation for the shooting down of its warplane, but Turkey dismissed the threats as “emotional” and “unfitting”. In an escalating war of words, President Tayyip Erdogan responded to Russian accusations that...
Putin’s ‘realpolitik’ aims to make Russia indispensable
By intervening in Syria, President Vladimir Putin has broken Russia’s relative isolation and is making it the “indispensable nation” in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine and with Islamic State while the United States balks at deeper involvement. But in this geopolitical poker game, it’s not clear he will be able to quit while...
Russia says to halt gas supplies to Ukraine, mulling coal cut off over Crimea
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would cut gas supplies to Ukraine on Tuesday or Wednesday because Kiev had not paid up front for more gas and might also halt coal supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for a power blackout of Crimea. Alexander Novak, in comments to Vesti FM radio station, was speaking as Russian-annexed Crimea...
State of emergency declared in Crimea after electricity pylons ‘blown up’
A state of emergency has been declared in Crimea after pylons carrying electricity from Ukraine were blown up cutting off power to almost two million people, media and the Russian government said on Sunday. The Russian Energy Ministry didn’t say what had caused the outages, but Russian media reported that two pylons in the Kherson region of...
Hollande pressed to amend foreign policy after Paris attacks
French President Francois Hollande is under pressure to change policy in Syria’s civil war and work more closely with Russia after a wave of deadly attacks in Paris but he seems determined to stick to his guns and escalate military action. France has become arguably the most exposed Western nation to Islamist militants because of its...
Five soldiers killed in east, highest toll in two months: Ukraine military
Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours during fighting in the east of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday, its highest death toll since a fragile ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists began two months ago. The guns have been mostly silent since early September, but there has been an increase in ceasefire...
