International

Egypt’s presidential candidate Hazem Abu Ismail is likely to be disqualified after the electoral commission confirmed Saturday that his mother held U.S. citizenship.

The Afghan government and the U.S. forces signed an agreement in Kabul Sunday afternoon to hand over all special operations, including the controversial night raid operations from U.S. and NATO forces to Afghan soldiers, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. 

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for an end to violence in Syria, as well as a renewed peace effort in the Middle East, in his annual Easter Mass message from the Vatican as Christians worldwide marked the holiday.

The African Union (AU) on Saturday said it welcomed the signing of the Framework Agreement of Bamako between the junta and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on April 6, which provides a series of steps for restoration of constitutional order in Mali.

The United States will be providing some 50 million U.S. dollars in additional aid for refugees and drought-hit areas in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a world parliamentary body that brings together over 160 countries, last week, admitted South Sudan and Myanmar as its 161 and 162 members.

Uncertainty and confusion faced an estimated half a million ethnic South Sudanese on Sunday, the deadline for them to leave Sudan or formalise their status in the country.