Acting President of Ukraine Olexander Turchynov on Thursday reinstated military conscription to help deal with the deteriorating security situation in Eastern Ukraine. The move was announced in a decree, and comes after pro-Russian forces seized a regional prosecutor’s office in Donetsk. Ukraine has blamed Russia for organizing the capture of government offices in Eastern Ukraine, a claim the Russian government …

On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that he has enough support to form a coalition government after the election, held on Wednesday, but reiterated that he would leave his post if need be. Maliki is seeking a third term in office, following the first elections in Iraq after the withdrawal of US troops. He faces significant opposition from …

The nine month deadline for the US-sponsored peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel has passed, with no progress made in the period of intense American diplomacy. Both parties are now possibly further apart than they were before the talks started in July last year. The negotiations had started with US Secretary of State John Kerry hoping that there …

On Wednesday, UN humanitarian chief Valarie Amos said that a Security Council measure aimed to provide aid to more than nine million desperate Syrians was “not working”. According to Amos, instead of relieving the misery of the Syrians who urgently need help, the humanitarian crisis in the country has only worsened since the Security Council adopted Resolution 2139 in February. …

UN officials on Wednesday vowed to do everything they can to stop conflict-wracked South Sudan from falling into genocide, and warned all the warring factions that they will be held responsible if famine breaks out in the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay verbally attacked both rebel leader Riek Machar and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, …

On Wednesday, pro-Russian forces lifted an armed siege on a regional police headquarters in Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine after the chief officer of the station agreed to resign. Meanwhile, The Ukrainian government said that its army is “on full combat alert” against a potential Russian invasion. Rebels already control the regional administration building and the SBU security services building. A …

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika “flunked” an apparent test of oral skills at his inauguration ceremony, newspapers reported on Tuesday, raising their concerns over the ailing Presidents ability to carry out his duties. The ailing 77-year-old, sitting in a wheelchair, struggled to deliver his oath of office and give a televised speech on Monday, following his re-election for a 4th term. …

On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch called for the UN Security Council to stop the supply of weapons to the Syrian regime, which it said was launching attacks with “barrel bombs”. The Human Rights Watch said that it had documented 85 aerial attacks by the Syrian regime against the opposition in areas they control, like the Aleppo province, since …

Suspected Jewish extremists vandalized a church and a mosque in Israel, the police said on Tuesday, in the latest of a string of religious and racist attacks in the country. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that the vandals scribbled “Close mosques and not yeshivas” on the outer walls of a mosque in the Arab town Fureidis, near the port city …

Yemeni forces on Tuesday launched an operation to remove all al-Qaeda forces from the southern towns in the country, where air strikes have killed about 60 militants last week. Their offensive began a few hours before the Friends of Yemen meeting began in London, where the delivery of aid to poverty-stricken country is to be discussed. The al-Qaeda has taken …