Diplomacy & Crisis News

International task forces established to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access and a ceasefire in Syria &#8220are moving in the right direction,&#8221 a United Nations mediator said today, ahead of a Friday deadline to accept a truce.

As part of the last day of his visit to South Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with President Salva Kiir, stressing the urgency of forming a Transitional Government, as well as spoke by phone with former Vice-President Riek Machar and visited a protection of civilians site.

(Own report) - Assessing the outcome of last week's "Brexit" Summit quite positively, Berlin continues to urge London to remain in the EU. In the shadow of British demands to restrict social benefits for foreigners from other EU member countries, the German government has reached its objective of significantly cutting payments of child support benefits to immigrant workers from Eastern und Southeastern Europe - with an estimated three digit millions in savings to the German budget. The other concessions to London are primarily symbolic and, therefore, without consequences. It is also not sure that they fulfill the stipulations of EU jurisprudence. According to reports, a "summit choreography" was stage-managed, to be able to sell the meager results of the meeting to the British public as the negotiating success of their prime minister: All-night debates and hectic appearances of a seemingly stressed David Cameron suggesting tough power struggles over decisions that, in fact, had long since been made. Berlin is interested in keeping Britain in the EU, primarily for military and economic reasons.

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The event has chosen a surprising theme.

The recent North Korea crisis offers lessons about great power relations and East Asian security.

Test your knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region with The Diplomat's weekly news quiz!

Iran’s theocracy has waged a long war against the nation’s artists.

(Own report) - In the Syrian war, Berlin und Brussels are supporting Turkey's call for a "safe zone" on Syrian territory. "Zones should be defined," where "the civilian population" could be "safe," urged Chancellor Merkel on behalf of the EU. However, this demand is aimed at preventing Syrian government forces from retaking key positions in northern Syria under Salafist militias' control. Ankara has been calling for this since some time and is now intensifying its efforts, openly threatening the intervention of its ground troops in Syria - a step that could lead to war between the NATO-member, Turkey and Russia. Dramatic consequences are also looming, if Saudi Arabia - Berlin's second close ally in the Middle East - carries out its threat and supplies the insurgent militias with surface-to-air missiles. Faced with this possible aggravation of the situation, concerned voices are being raised in sectors of the western establishment. For example, a US journal with a wide circulation warned that one should not fight Russia in the Middle East at any cost. Regime change policy, which Moscow is trying to prevent in Syria, has already destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq. This should not be repeated a third time.

Cinéma et colonisation ; ou, plus précisément, ce qu'il en fut de la confrontation entre la colonisation et le développement de ce loisir populaire. Ce sujet-là semble n'avoir jamais été défriché. C'est ce qu'Odile Goerg, professeure d'histoire de l'Afrique contemporaine, entreprend avec maestria dans (...) / Afrique, Angola, Burkina Faso, France, Audiovisuel, Cinéma, Colonialisme, Culture, Dette, Histoire, Inégalités, Racisme, Suède, Tanzanie - 2015/12

Ce n'est au commencement qu'un banal récit de vacances en Tunisie avant le « printemps arabe », rapporté par un narrateur à qui Preising, un industriel fortuné, patron sans envergure ni volonté d'une entreprise familiale de télécommunications moribonde, l'a conté lors d'une promenade : « Une histoire (...) / Royaume-Uni, Suisse, Tunisie, Banque, Culture, Dette, Économie, Finance, Littérature, Fiction, Chômage, Crise économique, Crise financière - 2015/12

Some of the assumptions about China’s presence in Africa appear unfounded.

Iran’s reengagement promises both more opportunity and more competition for India.

Islamabad is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to security for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

In the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston that struck the island nation of Fiji Saturday night, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) said it is on stand-by to provide emergency supplies and additional personnel to support the Government as it works to determine critical needs.

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria has strongly condemned bombings in two Syrian cities earlier today that resulted in more than 100 people killed or injured, including children.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the peaceful holding of elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) this past Sunday, calling for the timely holding of the second round of legislative elections to complete the political transition process.

Mother languages are essential to providing quality education, which in turn supports the achievement of the new global development agenda, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on the International Day established to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.

Which songs does South Korea choose to broadcast across the border?

There is growing evidence that the region’s economic prospects are dimming.