By , BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey continues to block a NATO defence plan for Poland and Baltic states despite a deal last year between Turkey’s president and allied leaders, three allied diplomats and a French defence official said on Wednesday.Diplomats said while Ankara has approved the plan, known as Eagle Defender, it has not allowed NATO military chiefs to put it into action.The dispute, first reported by Reuters in November, is a sign that divisions remain between Ankara, Paris and Washington over Turkey’s offensive last year in northern Syria and that frictions over broader NATO...…By , BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey continues to block a NATO defence plan for Poland and Baltic states despite a deal last year between Turkey’s president and allied leaders, three allied diplomats and a French defence official said on Wednesday.Diplomats said while Ankara has approved the plan, known as Eagle Defender, it has not allowed NATO military chiefs to put it into action.The dispute, first reported by Reuters in November, is a sign that divisions remain between Ankara, Paris and Washington over Turkey’s offensive last year in northern Syria and that frictions over broader NATO...WW…

By PARIS (Reuters) - A French court ordered Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga on Wednesday to be handed over to a United Nations tribunal for trial, rejecting arguments that he should be allowed to remain in France because of his health.U.N. prosecutors accuse Kabuga of bankrolling and arming ethnic Hutu militias that killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda during a 100-day period in 1994. He is indicted for genocide and incitement to commit genocide, among other charges.Kabuga, whose arrest in Paris in May ended a manhunt that lasted more than two decades, has called the...…By PARIS (Reuters) - A French court ordered Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga on Wednesday to be handed over to a United Nations tribunal for trial, rejecting arguments that he should be allowed to remain in France because of his health.U.N. prosecutors accuse Kabuga of bankrolling and arming ethnic Hutu militias that killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda during a 100-day period in 1994. He is indicted for genocide and incitement to commit genocide, among other charges.Kabuga, whose arrest in Paris in May ended a manhunt that lasted more than two decades, has called the...WW…

By , NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) - France launched a coalition of West African and European allies on Friday to fight jihadi militants in the Sahel region, hoping more political cooperation and special forces would boost a military effort that has so far failed to stifle violence.Slideshow Former colonial power France has deployed thousands of soldiers in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013, and now has 5,100 troops there. But violence by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State has been on the rise.The coalition, first announced at a January summit after a series of attacks...…By , NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) - France launched a coalition of West African and European allies on Friday to fight jihadi militants in the Sahel region, hoping more political cooperation and special forces would boost a military effort that has so far failed to stifle violence.Slideshow Former colonial power France has deployed thousands of soldiers in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013, and now has 5,100 troops there. But violence by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State has been on the rise.The coalition, first announced at a January summit after a series of attacks...WW…

Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Islamist political party run to cover amid water jet during a protest against the arrest of their leader in Lahore, Pakistan April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22VM9Y10NURegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, April 15 (Reuters) - France has advised French citizens to temporarily leave Pakistan and warned of serious threats to French interests in the country, two diplomatic sources said on Thursday, after violent clashes there this week.Thousands of Pakistani Islamists had clashed with police...…Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Islamist political party run to cover amid water jet during a protest against the arrest of their leader in Lahore, Pakistan April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22VM9Y10NURegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, April 15 (Reuters) - France has advised French citizens to temporarily leave Pakistan and warned of serious threats to French interests in the country, two diplomatic sources said on Thursday, after violent clashes there this week.Thousands of Pakistani Islamists had clashed with police...WW…

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDUBAI, April 15 (Reuters) - Iran and global powers resumed talks on Thursday to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal in an effort potentially complicated by Tehran’s decision to ramp up uranium enrichment and what it called Israeli sabotage at a nuclear site.Casting a shadow over the Vienna talks,...…The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDUBAI, April 15 (Reuters) - Iran and global powers resumed talks on Thursday to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal in an effort potentially complicated by Tehran’s decision to ramp up uranium enrichment and what it called Israeli sabotage at a nuclear site.Casting a shadow over the Vienna talks,...WW…

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, April 14 (Reuters) - The United States and the European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal pushed back on Wednesday against Tehran’s decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, with the top U.S. diplomat calling the move “provocative” and questioning Iran’s seriousness...…The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, April 14 (Reuters) - The United States and the European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal pushed back on Wednesday against Tehran’s decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, with the top U.S. diplomat calling the move “provocative” and questioning Iran’s seriousness...WW…

By PARIS (Reuters) - Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area.France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to determine whether crimes against humanity were committed anywhere in the world.The case, which about a dozen people have joined, follows a similar one opened in Germany last year. It offers a rare legal avenue for action against the government of President Bashar...…By PARIS (Reuters) - Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area.France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to determine whether crimes against humanity were committed anywhere in the world.The case, which about a dozen people have joined, follows a similar one opened in Germany last year. It offers a rare legal avenue for action against the government of President Bashar...WW…

By , VIENNA/PARIS (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating U.S. efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.The find and Iran’s response risk hurting efforts by the new U.S. administration to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.Although the sites where the material was found are believed to have been inactive for nearly two decades, opponents of the nuclear...…By , VIENNA/PARIS (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating U.S. efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.The find and Iran’s response risk hurting efforts by the new U.S. administration to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.Although the sites where the material was found are believed to have been inactive for nearly two decades, opponents of the nuclear...WW…

By , VIENNA/PARIS (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating U.S. efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.The find and Iran’s response risk hurting efforts by the new U.S. administration to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.Although the sites where the material was found are believed to have been inactive for nearly two decades, opponents of the nuclear...…By , VIENNA/PARIS (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating U.S. efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.The find and Iran’s response risk hurting efforts by the new U.S. administration to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.Although the sites where the material was found are believed to have been inactive for nearly two decades, opponents of the nuclear...WW…

By , PARIS (Reuters) - The exiled uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was found guilty on Wednesday of acquiring millions of euros worth of French property using funds diverted from the Syrian state, and sentenced to four years in prison.The French court ordered the seizure of all of Rifaat al-Assad’s property in France -- which judicial sources estimate are worth 100 million euros ($113 million) -- as well as a property worth 29 million euros in London.Rifaat al-Assad, 82, has lived in exile, mostly in France, since the mid-1980s, after being accused of trying to seize power from his...…By , PARIS (Reuters) - The exiled uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was found guilty on Wednesday of acquiring millions of euros worth of French property using funds diverted from the Syrian state, and sentenced to four years in prison.The French court ordered the seizure of all of Rifaat al-Assad’s property in France -- which judicial sources estimate are worth 100 million euros ($113 million) -- as well as a property worth 29 million euros in London.Rifaat al-Assad, 82, has lived in exile, mostly in France, since the mid-1980s, after being accused of trying to seize power from his...WW…