Section: Egypt Independent (Egypt)
Merkel – can’t imagine Russia back in G8 until common values met
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that there would not be any Group of 8 meetings with Russia as long as it fails to comply with basic common values of democracy and states based on rules of law.”The developments in Ukraine are the reason that we will meet in Elmau as Group of 7 and not a Group of 8,” she said in a...
Anti-government rally in Macedonia over wire-tap revelations
Thousands of protesters rallied in Macedonia on Sunday, demanding Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski resign over wire-tap revelations that have plunged the Balkan country into its worst political crisis since flirting with civil war in 2001. Crowds, including members of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority, thronged the central avenue in front...
Macedonia protesters say to occupy streets until leader quits
Anti-government protesters in Macedonia, due to gather on Sunday, say they will occupy downtown Skopje until embattled conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski resigns over a flood of damaging wire-tap disclosures.Gruevski’s political opponents hope to rally tens of thousands in front of the prime minister’s office from 2 p.m....
Ukrainian military: Three Ukrainian servicemen killed, 17 wounded in past 24 hours in east
Three Ukrainian serviceman have been killed and 17 wounded in fresh separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine in violation of a ceasefire agreement, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday.Two of the deaths were a result of a mortar attack near the town of Svitlodarsk, northeast of separatist-controlled Donetsk, spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in...
Britain scrambles Typhoon jets to escort Russian bombers
British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers near UK airspace north of Scotland, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NATO have increased over the last year amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine...
Baltic military chiefs to call for permanent NATO presence
Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will seek a permanent presence of NATO troops on their territory to counter increased Russian air and naval activity, the Lithuanian army said on Thursday. The states, all with ethnic Russian minorities, fear they could become a target of Kremlin pressure after a pro-Moscow rebellion in eastern Ukraine...
Kerry says ‘critical moment’ for Russia to fulfil Ukraine truce
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said it was a critical moment for Russia and separatists to fulfil a peace deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, following his talks a day earlier with President Vladimir Putin. Kerry said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey that it is a “critical moment for action by Russia and...
Kerry to explore Putin’s flexibility on Ukraine, Syria
US Secretary of State John Kerry hopes to explore Russia’s willingness to curb its involvement in Ukraine and its support for Syria’s president at talks on Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin. Kerry flew to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the highest-level US visit to Russia in two years, to discuss issues including the Iran...
Opposition report: Scores of Russian soldiers killed in east Ukraine
Moscow spent more than 53 billion rubles (US$1.04 billion) supplying a separatist rebellion in east Ukraine and at least 220 Russian soldiers have been killed there, a report by Russian opposition activists said on Tuesday. The report was the last project of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, who used open source information and interviews...
Exit poll: Polish president suffers shock reverse in first round vote
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski came in a surprise second behind his conservative opponent in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday and must now face him in a run-off, an exit poll showed. Being forced into another round later this month pointed to voter disenchantment, an alarming prospect for Komorowski’s allies in...
