As Euroskeptics and anti-EU parties gain ground in the European Parliament elections, the leaders of some countries have reacted to the results. French President Francois Hollande asked the European Union to reduce its role where it was “not necessary” on Monday. He made the remarks after his Socialist Party was beaten by the far-right National…

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has turned down an offer by the US to visit President Barack Obama at an American airbase outside the Afghan capital, Kabul. On Sunday the US president travelled to Afghanistan on a surprise visit and refused to go to the Afghan capital and meet with government officials there. An American official,…

The 31st edition of the country’s most important Qur’anic event, International Qur’an Competition kicked off in the capital city of Tehran. A number of officials, Islamic masters and Qur’an scholars attended the opening ceremony held at the Summit Conference Hall. Many reciters and memorizers from over 70 countries have signed up to participate in the year’s…

The leader of Hezbollah says the United States and its allies are sending terrorists to Syria in order to destroy the country and the resistance. Hezbollah’s secretary general said in a televised address on Sunday that the US and the West are sending terrorists and Takfiris to Syria to destroy the axis of resistance in…

Petro Poroshenko, who exit polls have shown is the new Ukrainian president, says he will not negotiate with pro-Russian protesters until they lay down their arms. The exit polls from Sunday’s presidential election in Ukraine, conducted by three Ukrainian survey agencies, showed that the 48-year-old candy tycoon has gained nearly 56 percent of the votes.…

The US president, who made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday, says his country’s longest war will be over by the end of the year but adds Washington will likely maintain its military presence in the war-weary nation. After arriving at Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanistan, Barack Obama pledged what he…

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has spent his final day in office, leaving behind a power vacuum in the country as the parliament failed to pick his successor after five attempts, Press TV reports. While bidding farewell to the presidential palace on Saturday, Sleiman said the power vacuum may have been caused intentionally by certain Lebanese…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of ignoring Moscow’s security and economic interests in Ukraine. Speaking to representatives of news agencies in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Saturday, Putin said the West is seeking its own interests, particularly the possibility that Ukraine could one day join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization…

An American retired professor has blamed the United States for Ukraine’s ongoing political crisis, saying Washington started a game in that country hoping to establish a pro-American government there, but it failed. It is the United States “betraying the world and international law rather than Russians,” said James Henry Fetzer, the Madison-based editor of Veterans…

The Syrian president has thanked Russia for supporting his country in its fight against foreign-backed militants. On Saturday, Bashar al-Assad made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting Russian delegation headed by deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin. He said Moscow has been throwing its weight behind the Syrian nation in its war against “terrorism.” He also denounced the West…