Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country had nothing to do with Russian military contractors working in Mali. According to the president, the African country had the right to work with private Russian firms. Putin, speaking at a news conference after talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, said there …

The European Union has said it will impose travel bans and asset freezes on five members of Mali’s government following the report on elections scheduled for February. The measures, which have political support of all 27 EU governments and should take effect later this month, follow a raft of restrictions …

Forty-six people, including twelve minors, died calcined in the night from Monday to Tuesday in Bulgaria after the explosion of a bus carrying 53 passengers. “It is a great tragedy. Twelve of them were under 18, including five children whose age was not specified, and the others were between 20 …

French president Emmanuel Macron has confirmed the return to Benin of 26 works of art, looted by French troops from the royal treasure house of Abomey in 1892. After viewing the artefacts at the Quai Branly museum in Paris, Mr Macron said African youth should not be denied access to …

The mayor of Moscow has decided that unvaccinated residents over the age of 60 stay at home from this Monday and for the next 120 days as the country is hit hard by a new wave of Covid-19 – Sunday. The mayor of the Russian capital has decreed the re-confinement …

British parliamentarians have tabled amendments to a bill on health, currently under consideration, with the aim of combating smoking. Among them, writing “Smoking kills” directly on cigarettes, inside packages, reports The Guardian. “Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in England, killing 74,600 people in 2019,” wrote on Twitter …

The European Union has urged the Tunisian President Kaïs Saied to restore democratic order in the country and reopen parliament. During a parliamentary session, European Union’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell told EU lawmakers that the Tunisian parliament “cannot stay closed indefinitely”. “It is crucial for the future of the …

A Cambridge University college has announced that later this month it is to hand back a sculpture that was originally seized by British troops from the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria. The bronze cockerel was one of thousands of artefacts looted during a punitive expedition in 1897. It was …

A French soldier died in an accident during a maintenance operation on the desert platform in Timbuktu in Mali. It is about Adrien Quélin, Marshal of the Logis. His death is announced by General Thierry Burkhard, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Florence Parly, the French Defence …

Laurent Delahousse, the head of the European Union in Liberia said he is sorry for saying that the Liberian capital Monrovia is a “disgusting” and “dirty” city, following a backlash. Speaking at an event organised by the Monrovia City Corporation last week, the EU envoy in Liberia said that Monrovia …