The European Union and Cuba agreed to speed up the pace of talks on improving bilateral relations, hoping to reach the basics of a deal by the end of 2015, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday. The EU and Cuba began negotiations in April last year to rewrite their bilateral political agreement, part of a deepening of ties since the 28-nation bloc lifted diplomatic sanctions in 2008. But they only managed three meeting in 11 months, prompting the Europeans to suggest a quicker pace, which the Cubans agreed to, Mogherini told reporters in H...

An Airbus A320 airliner has crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne, French aviation officials and police have said. The jet belongs to the German airline Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. The plane, flight 4U 9525, had been en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf with 144 passengers and six crew. French President Francois Hollande said: “The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think there are no survivors.” Mr Hollande said the crash was a tragedy, add...

Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, has died, leaving behind the unlikely nation that he and his colleagues fostered and built over five decades as his lasting legacy. Lee, who would have turned 92 this September, died at the Singapore General Hospital where he had been warded for severe pneumonia since Feb 5. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said: “The Prime Minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Lee passed away peacefully a...

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says that progress made in nuclear talks means a final deal can be reached. “There is nothing that cannot be resolved,” although some differences still remain, Iranian state media quoted him as saying. US Secretary of State John Kerry also said that “substantial progress” had been made in the talks. Six world powers are negotiating a deal with Iran aimed at limiting its nuclear activity, with a late March deadline. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes but world powers fear it has mil...

Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killing at least 77 people and wounding 121 others, medics say. Worshippers were attending noon prayers at the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques when at least three attackers struck. [caption id="attachment_14086" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jihadist militant groups have targeted Houthi supporters several times in recent months[/caption] The mosques are used mainly by supporters of the Zaidi Shia-led Houthi rebel movement, which controls Sanaa. Islamic State (IS), which set up a...

US President Barack Obama told the people and leaders of Iran on Thursday that nuclear talks presented “the best opportunity in decades” for the two countries to transform long-frayed ties, but warned there was still work to do in the tortuous negotiations. It came after mixed messages emerged from the talks earlier in the day in Switzerland, where US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart hailed “progress,” but a European negotiator said Tehran and the six major powers were “pretty far from a deal.” The countdown has be...