SUPERPOWERS - AFRICA DAILY

China's Xi heads to Europe as Ukraine crisis heats up

Mar 20, 2014 (AFP)

China's Xi Jinping embarks on his first European tour as president Saturday, with the continent gripped by a diplomatic frenzy over Beijing ally Moscow's absorp...

Tears and threats as Ukrainians quit navy HQ

Mar 19, 2014 (AFP)

Ukrainian servicemen filed out of navy headquarters in Sevastopol on Wednesday with tears in their eyes after the base was seized by pro-Moscow militants, Russi...

Crimean militias storm bases, arrest Ukraine navy chief

Mar 19, 2014 (AFP)

Pro-Russian forces seized two Crimean navy bases and captured Ukraine's naval chief on Wednesday as Moscow tightened its grip on the flashpoint peninsula despit...

Ukraine severs key ties with Russia over Crimea

Mar 19, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine announced plans Wednesday to drop out of a key post-Soviet alliance and slap entry visas on Russians while also preparing for a possible Crimean withdra...

Russia's intervention in Crimea part of wider strategy: NATO

Mar 19, 2014 (AFP)

The head of NATO said Wednesday the alliance was worried Russia could extend its intervention beyond Crimea into eastern Ukraine and that the crisis reflected a...

Human Rights Watch chief praises Merkel 'rethink' on Russia

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

The head of Human Rights Watch on Tuesday praised a hardening of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance on Russia and urged her to also take a tougher line in...

Submit or leave: Kiev's soldiers under siege in Crimea

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

Russian soldiers dig trenches and set up mortars on a hillside overlooking the Ukrainian military base of Perevalne in Crimea. Inside, soldiers loyal to Kiev ar...

Ukraine PM says no plans to join NATO

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's new Western-backed prime minister said Tuesday that the ex-Soviet country had no plans to join NATO following last month's fall of a pro-Kremlin regim...

US commander emphasises Philippine alliance, amid China row

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

The US Pacific commander Tuesday emphasised the Philippines' importance as a military ally, as Filipino forces were involved in an increasingly tense standoff w...

Vietnam leader warns against use of force in territorial rows

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

Vietnam's president on Tuesday warned against the use of force in territorial disputes as his nation and its neighbours lock horns with an increasingly assertiv...

India says report on '62 war with China to stay classified

Mar 18, 2014 (AFP)

India's defence ministry said Tuesday a controversial report about the country's defeat by China in a brief, bloody 1962 border war would remain classified due ...

Michelle Obama looks to ease mistrust on China trip

Mar 17, 2014 (AFP)

Michelle Obama will look to dispel growing mistrust between the United States and China through a weeklong tour of the Asian power focused deliberately on soft ...

China re-iterates calls for restraint in Crimea

Mar 17, 2014 (AFP)

China said Monday it respected "all countries' independent sovereignty and territorial integrity", in an ambiguous statement after Ukraine's Crimea region voted...

Ukraine denounces Russian 'provocations,' troop build-up

Mar 17, 2014 (AFP)

Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Russian "provocations" Monday, warning of a troop build-up on the border and the presence of "political tourists" in its ea...

Russia flies warplanes to Belarus for joint combat duty

Mar 16, 2014 (XNA)

Moscow has deployed six SU-27 fighters and three military transport jets to Belarus, in an apparent reaction to growing NATO activity near the Belarusian border...

China's Xi seeks both power and friendship abroad

Mar 15, 2014 (AFP)

Xi Jinping has spent much of his first year as China's president greeting a stream of foreign leaders, but his government's dual message of power and peace has ...

UN resolution on Crimea: Russia vetoes, China abstains

Mar 15, 2014 (AFP)

Russia vetoed a Western-backed resolution condemning the Crimea referendum at a UN Security Council emergency vote Saturday, but China abstained, isolating Mosc...

Former Soviet satellites sign joint military pact

Mar 14, 2014 (AFP)

Four former Soviet satellites in Central Europe signed a military pact Friday to coordinate defence planning and to create a joint combat unit to operate under ...

Philippines says US defence deal close, amid China row

Mar 14, 2014 (AFP)

The Philippines said Friday a deal to allow a greater US military presence on its territory could be signed next month, in a timely defence boost amid a worseni...

US weighs request for military aid from Ukraine: officials

Mar 13, 2014 (AFP)

The United States is "reviewing" a request from Ukraine's leaders for arms and other military assistance, officials said Thursday, denying reports they had reje...