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PARIS (Reuters) – Western foreign ministers will hold crunch talks on their countries’ future presence fighting Islamist militants in Mali on Monday, four European sources said, with three saying regional and international leaders will also meet on Wednesday. The diplomatic flurry precedes an EU-Africa summit on Feb. 17-18 and three weeks of consultations amid deterioration …

Diplomatic flurry as crunch time on Western military role in Mali nears Read More »

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and European officials are finalizing an extensive package of sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine that targets major Russian banks, but does not include banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system, according to U.S. and European officials. The sanctions on the table also include export controls on components produced …

SWIFT off Russia sanctions list, state banks likely target -U.S., EU officials Read More »

By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – President Joe Biden held a call with leaders of U.S. allies on Friday where they raised concerns about Russia’s buildup of military forces around Ukraine and expressed a desire for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, the White House said. The leaders also agreed to making coordinated efforts to deter …

Biden, U.S. allies concerned by Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine, urge diplomacy Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – Messenger service Telegram, which has proved popular with far-right groups and people opposed to COVID-related restrictions, has blocked 64 of its channels in Germany, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday, without giving a source for the information. The move came after Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office sent shutdown requests to the messenger service, …

More than 60 Telegram channels blocked in Germany – newspaper Read More »

By Natalia Zinets and Pavel Polityuk KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s security and defence council on Friday imposed sanctions on the television channel linked to Yevhen Murayev, the politician named by Britain as the possible leader of a Kremlin puppet government in the event of a Russian invasion. Russia is massing increasing numbers of troops near …

Ukraine slaps sanctions on TV channel tied to Russian coup plot claim Read More »

By Anne Kauranen, Essi Lehto and Mike Stone HELSINKI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Finland has sealed a deal to buy dozens of F-35 stealth warplanes from the United States, in a sign of its military’s close ties with NATO at a time of high tension between the West and Russia in Europe. The northern European nation – …

Finland seals deal for U.S. F-35 stealth jets, reflecting tight ties to NATO Read More »

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium announced further easing of coronavirus restrictions on Friday to allow nightclubs to reopen and drop the requirement for primary school pupils to wear masks, as cases of the Omicron variant fell from an end-of-January peak. “The successive waves have not been easy for us,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told a …

Belgium to reopen nightclubs, ease mask mandate as infections sink Read More »