SUPERPOWERS - AFRICA DAILY

Ukraine says 100,000 Russian troops near border

Mar 27, 2014 (AFP)

Nearly 100,000 Russian forces have massed on Ukraine's border, a top Ukrainian defense official told an American audience Thursday, giving a number far higher t...

Obama, Rasmussen eye stronger NATO presence in EEurope

Mar 26, 2014 (AFP)

US President Barack Obama and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday spoke out in favour of strengthening the alliance's role in eastern Europe following...

Pandas and yak soup on Michelle Obama's China menu

Mar 26, 2014 (AFP)

US First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday wrapped up a week-long trip to China by feeding a panda before having a yak-based lunch at a Tibetan restaurant. Obama...

Russia building up troops on Ukraine border

Mar 26, 2014 (AFP)

Russia has moved more troops closer to Ukraine's borders in recent days despite assurances it will not invade, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday. ...

Lyon in lockdown mode for Chinese President Xi's visit

Mar 25, 2014 (AFP)

Road, tunnel and subway closures; spot checks for residents; maximum security: The French city of Lyon was in lockdown mode Tuesday as Chinese President Xi Jinp...

Ukraine sacks defence minister over Crimea

Mar 25, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's parliament sacked the crisis-hit country's besieged defence minister Tuesday after his forces began a humiliating withdrawal from Crimea without firin...

Obama and Xi discuss Ukraine

Mar 24, 2014 (AFP)

President Barack Obama said Monday that the United States and China can help ensure "respect for the sovereignty of nations" as he held talks on Ukraine with Ch...

Ukraine orders Crimean troop withdrawal

Mar 24, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine on Monday ordered its outnumbered troops to withdraw from Crimea after Russia's lightning annexation of the peninsula as world leaders met for emergency...

'Sorry brother': Ukraine marines betrayed by Russian raid

Mar 24, 2014 (AFP)

Just a year ago, Ruslan, a marine in Ukraine's top battalion stationed in the Crimean port of Feodosiya, helped Russian soldiers paint their armoured personnel ...

World leaders meet as Ukraine crisis strains East-West ties

Mar 24, 2014 (AFP)

World leaders gather in The Hague on Monday for talks set to be dominated by the crisis in Ukraine, with Russia facing possible exclusion from the G8 club of ri...

Ukraine fears Russia 'ready to attack'

Mar 23, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's Western-backed leaders voiced fears on Sunday of an imminent Russian invasion of the eastern industrial heartland following the fall of their last air...

Michelle Obama sees Great Wall, Chinese educators

Mar 23, 2014 (AFP)

Visiting US first lady Michelle Obama toured China's Great Wall on Sunday, after her arrival at the US embassy in Beijing earlier in the day sparked a minor sec...

G7 Ukraine summit won't affect nuclear talks: Dutch PM

Mar 23, 2014 (AFP)

Urgent talks by G7 countries on the crisis in the Ukraine will not interfere with a global summit on ridding the world of nuclear terrorism, Dutch Prime Ministe...

China's Xi on first Europe tour as Ukraine crisis deepens

Mar 22, 2014 (AFP)

China's President Xi Jinping touches down in the Netherlands on Saturday for his first-ever Europe tour, with the continent in a diplomatic frenzy after Russia'...

Ukraine troops returning from Crimea 'heroes': ministry

Mar 22, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's defence ministry on Saturday said that troops returning from Crimea following Russia's annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula were "heroes" a...

US, China first ladies in Beijing's Forbidden City

Mar 21, 2014 (AFP)

US First Lady Michelle Obama took her daughters and mother to Beijing's former imperial palace Friday, on a China tour the White House emphasises will be light ...

Ukraine's navy at end of rope in Crimea

Mar 21, 2014 (AFP)

The tugboats came in the evening, carrying three dozen Russian sailors and pro-Russian militiamen who climbed aboard the Ternopil and told the crew to leave. Th...

Russia promises not to attack east Ukraine: US

Mar 20, 2014 (AFP)

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu promised his US counterpart Chuck Hagel in a telephone call Thursday that Moscow would not assault eastern Ukraine. Hagel...

Gunmen storm Ukrainian warship in Crimea: spokesman

Mar 20, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's defence ministry on Thursday said around 20 gunmen seized a Ukrainian warship, the Ternopil, in the port of Sevastopol in Crimea. "The ship has been t...

Michelle Obama in China for week-long tour

Mar 20, 2014 (AFP)

Michelle Obama arrived in Beijing on Thursday, kicking off a week-long tour which US officials say is focused deliberately on soft issues in a bid to dispel gro...