Politics

Mar- 2018 -

7 March

Qatar signs agreement allowing NATO use of Al-Udeid Air Base

NATO and Qatar signed an agreement allowing NATO personnel to enter Qatar, and to use Al-Udeid Air Base, which NATO said will facilitate operations in the region, including in Afghanistan

7 March

Joseph Hammond

1

What the end of the Qatar-Chad dispute means

Last month, a joint statement between Qatar and Chad led to restoration of relations that had been under stress since June of last year

6 March

Joanne Stocker

0

North Korea agrees to moratorium on nuclear and ballistics tests during US talks

North Korea has agreed to halt nuclear and ballistic missile tests if it holds talks with the United States, the South Korean presidency said after a delegation returned from Pyongyang

Feb- 2018 -

26 February

Staff Writer with AFP

0

Russia vetoes UN draft resolution pressuring Iran over Yemen, China abstains

Russia vetoed a UN draft resolution presented by the UK that would have pressured Iran over its failure to block supplies of missiles to Yemen's Houthi rebels

14 February

Staff Writer with AFP

3

US concerns over EU PESCO defense pact cloud NATO talks

Brussels (AFP) – NATO defence ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss Washington’s concerns over the European Union’s new plans to deepen defense ties between its members, and increasingly strained U.S.-Turkey relations. Washington and Ankara, two of the transatlantic alliance’s most important members, are at loggerheads over Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday warned it was detracting from the fight against the Islamic State group. The two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels is expected to approve changes to the alliance’s command structure. It aims to meet the challenges of warfare in the 21st century, particularly cyber attacks and other novel “hybrid warfare” tactics, as fears grow about Russian assertiveness. But a working dinner with E.U. diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini later Wednesday has taken on greater significance after senior US officials voiced fears about the impact the bloc’s new landmark defence pact could have on the balance of power in NATO. The E.U.’s so-called permanent structured cooperation on defence agreement, known as PESCO, has projects in view already to develop new military equipment and improve cooperation and decision-making. But on Sunday a senior official working with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis …

1 February

Afghan security personnel outside the Marshal Fahim academy in Kabul

Staff Writer with AFP

0

Afghanistan claims ‘undeniable’ evidence Kabul attacks planned in Pakistan

Afghanistan has handed "undeniable" evidence to Pakistan that it claims shows a recent spate of deadly attacks were planned on Pakistani soil, Afghan officials said, amid growing public anger over their impotence to protect civilians

Jan- 2018 -

31 January

Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay naval base

Joanne Stocker

0

Trump orders Guantanamo Bay military prison to remain open

Trump ordered the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to remain open and said the US would send new terrorism suspects there

27 January

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Fergus Kelly

2

Turkey tells US to “immediately withdraw” from Manbij, Syria

Turkey urged the United States to withdraw military personnel from Manbij, Syria after Ankara said the US said it would stop arming the predominantly Kurdish YPG

26 January