Africa’s Sahel, home to some of the world’s poorest, most politically unstable and conflict-prone countries, is once again in crisis. With the July 26 military takeover in Niger, the region has become a true “coup belt” across the girth of Africa, and many Sahel nations are now governed by unelected military rulers. In recent years, … Read moreFrench mistakes helped create Africa’s coup belt
The head of the NATO alliance says it is up to Ukraine to decide on when and under what conditions to begin any negotiations on ending the war with Russia after comments by a senior colleague on the subject resulted in a backlash. Speaking at a conference in the Norwegian town of Arendal, Jens Stoltenberg … Read moreAfter backlash, NATO chief says only Ukraine can decide on talks to end war
The United States has given the green light for a $3.5bn sale of Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defence system to Germany, the Israeli Ministry of Defense says. The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that senior officials from the Israeli and German defence ministries would sign a letter of commitment to the deal with … Read moreUS approves landmark missile defence deal between Israel and Germany
Armenia appealed to the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting over what it called a “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Nagorno-Karabakh after accusing Azerbaijan of blocking supplies to the disputed region. “The severe shortage of essential goods including food, medicine and fuel has been particularly exacerbated since 15 June 2023, when Azerbaijan completely blocked … Read moreArmenia calls for UN help on Nagorno-Karabakh’s humanitarian situation
Russian shelling has killed seven people, including a 23-day-old infant, and wounded 20 others in Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson, prompting local officials to declare a day of mourning. Kyiv reclaimed part of Kherson from Russian occupation last November, but Kremlin troops have continued shelling the regional capital and areas around it from across the … Read moreFamily killed in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s Kherson
French superstar Kylian Mbappe has been reinstated in Paris Saint-Germain’s first team, the football club has said. It has been a rocky build-up to the new Ligue 1 season for champions PSG, with Mbappe left out of new coach Luis Enrique’s team for Saturday’s underwhelming opening goalless draw against Lorient. After being sidelined for several … Read moreStar forward Kylian Mbappe reinstated by PSG
The German government has shut down four infrastructure projects in Bosnia and Herzogovina’s autonomous Republika Srpska over the secessionist aims of its president, Milorad Dodik, according to a statement by the German embassy. Wednesday’s announcement referred to projects worth a combined 105 million euros ($115m) that were suspended in April 2022 after Dodik moved to … Read moreGermany ends projects in Bosnia’s Serb republic over secessionist moves
Days of heavy rain triggered landslides and flooding in mountainous southern Norway, where authorities said on Wednesday they were considering blowing up part of a dam at risk of bursting to prevent downstream communities from getting deluged. The Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, is dammed at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant, which was … Read moreNorway considers blowing up dam after days of heavy rain, flooding
The United Kingdom has announced a deal with Turkey to enhance cooperation in tackling irregular migration, which includes a new operational “centre of excellence” to be established by the Turkish National Police. London announced the plan on Tuesday evening as part of its attempts to reduce irregular migration to the UK, a key political issue. … Read moreUK announces deal with Turkey to tackle irregular migration
France will support efforts by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to make the military coup in Niger fail, the French foreign ministry said on Saturday. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met with Niger Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou and the Niger ambassador in Paris on Saturday. Earlier, Colonna said the coup leaders in Niamey had … Read moreFrance backs ECOWAS push to reverse Niger military coup