United States

U.S. President Barack Obama said April 23 he takes "full responsibility" for a U.S. counterterrorism mission that inadvertently killed an American and an Italian held hostage by al-Qaeda. He defended the legality of the January drone strike against an al-Qaeda compound and said there had been no information suggesting the hostages were at that location.

US President Barack Obama has said the White House believes a US counterterrorism operation against Al-Qaeda "accidentally killed" two hostages, an American and an Italian.

The American was Dr Warren Weinstein, held by militans since 2011, while Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian, was taken hostage in 2012.

Great Albania threats to tear Balkan apart

Albanian terrorists, members of the UCK attacked Macedonian institutions in the last two weeks in Gosinac, small city near the Albanian border. Many experts stated that these attacks are reprise of the same scenario like the one in Kosovo. One thing is sure: the tensions between Macedonia and Albania are growing.

Romania's former president, Ion Iliescu, has said in an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel that between 2002 and 2003 he approved "in principle" a US request for the CIA  to set up a centre in Romania.

Deutsche Bank faced a multi-billion-dollar fine on April 23 as British and U.S. officials prepared to announce a legal settlement over alleged attempts at its London-based subsidiary to manipulate interest rate benchmarks. 

Marine Le Pen, “superstar” of the French Far Right movement presented herself in a way that very few had seen her before. Wearing a dress which left her shoulders bare, the leader of the far-right National Front, Marine appeared in New York, walking on the red carpet, just a few steps away from Kim Kardashian.

Istanbul and Ankara offer a variety of attractions this week, from concerts by German indie rock band The Notwist and American tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander to a food festival offering the different cuisines of Turkey. Istanbul's Miniaturk hosts activities for children

As Iran sees the light at the end of the tunnel of Western sanctions due to a recent deal, the Islamic republic is preparing to cooperate with Turkey in the field of tourism, according to a senior statesman.

A top government official travelling to Brussels with the Prime Minister mentioned the US government’s critical stance on the potential Savvas Xiros release. The official who is basically expressing the Prime Minister’s views, stated that the US government’s reactions were over the top, and unexpected.

The US is seeking to block a proposal Gazprom made in Athens on a Greek leg of the so-called "Turkish Stream" pipeline, the Greek Foreign Minister has said.