federal government

Ukraine’s Parliament has approved at first reading an anti-Russian sanctions package that includes 29 measures, reports RT.com. 

Some of them, including the potential ban on transit of Russian natural gas and other energy resources through Ukraine, however, could hurt the EU.

The New York Times called for the legalization of marijuana on Saturday, in a bold editorial comparing the federal ban on cannabis to Prohibition.
      
The prestigious publication said pot laws disproportionately impact young black men and that addiction and dependence are "relatively minor problems" -- especially when compared with alcohol and tobacco.        

Villagers from a northeast Nigerian town where Boko Haram Islamists abducted more than 200 schoolgirls on Friday appealed to the United Nations to intervene because of worsening violence in the region.
     
The community, which originates from the Chibok district of restive Borno state, claimed militants were running amok in their homeland, seemingly with impunity.         

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani said June 27 there was no going back on autonomous Kurdish rule in oil city Kirkuk and other towns now defended against Sunni militants by Kurdish fighters.

An Iraqi air strike hit a convoy of Kurdish forces which have moved into an area of eastern Iraq during a militant offensive, killing six fighters, officers and a doctor said June 15.

It was not immediately clear if the Saturday night attack near Khanaqin, which also wounded some 20 others, was specifically targeting the Kurdish troops or a case of mistaken identity.

The federal government and the autonomous Kurdish region will cooperate against the offensive of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoğlu during a phone call June 12.

BELGRADE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Aleksandar Vucic on taking over as Serbian prime minister, announcing that her government will continue to provide strong support to Serbia on its path of reforms and European integrations.

Germany "to block Montenegro's membership in NATO"

PODGORICA -- Germany will block the accession of Montenegro to NATO at the summit in Wales, writes the Montenegrin daily Dan, quoting statements from the German government.