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Ukraine President Says 64 Soldiers Killed since Feb. 15 Ceasefire

A total of 64 soldiers have been killed in eastern Ukraine since a ceasefire deal between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels went into effect on February 15, President Petro Poroshenko said Monday.

While the shaky truce has been largely holding, sporadic clashes have continued with both sides accusing the other of violating the European-brokered, Russian-backed peace deal signed in the Belarussian capital last month.

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France Condemns Mali Attacks as Bid to Wreck Peace Hopes

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday condemned the weekend attacks in Mali as an attempt to wreck the country's prospects of sealing a newly signed peace deal.

"These attacks are attacks on peace... At a time when we are just meters from peace, hostile forces are trying to intervene to wreck this perspective," he told a news conference in the Moroccan capital.

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U.S. Urges Europe to Contribute More Peacekeepers

Washington's U.N. envoy Samantha Power urged European countries on Monday to contribute more troops to U.N. peacekeeping missions, saying their experience in Afghanistan could prove crucial.

U.S. President Barack Obama will bring world leaders together on the sidelines of the next U.N. Assembly General in New York in September to push them to take part in more peacekeeping missions, Power said in a speech in Brussels.

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N. Korea 'Apologizes' to Bangladesh over Gold-Smuggling Diplomat

North Korea apologized to Bangladesh on Monday after one of its diplomats was caught trying to smuggle 27 kilograms of gold into the south Asian country, a Dhaka official told Agence France-Presse.

Son Young Nam -- the first secretary of the North Korean embassy in Dhaka -- tried to sneak in the bullion, worth around $1.7 million, using diplomatic immunity on Friday.

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U.S. Offers $5 Million for Return of ex-FBI Agent Missing in Iran

The United States on Monday announced a $5 million increased reward for information leading to the return of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, as it marked the eighth anniversary of his mysterious disappearance in Iran.

The FBI had previously issued a $1 million reward for Levinson's return in 2012, five years after he went missing.

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Kerry to Meet Zarif in Switzerland on March 15

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Lausanne, Switzerland on March 15 to meet with his Iranian counterpart as part of continuing talks on Tehran's nuclear program, the State Department said Monday.

Kerry will sit down with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the ongoing "P5+1" nuclear talks, the State Department said, as negotiators race to beat a March 31 deadline for reaching a deal.

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British MP O'Brien Named U.N. Humanitarian Aid Chief

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed British lawmaker Stephen O'Brien as the U.N.'s top humanitarian aid official to lead global relief efforts at a time of worsening conflicts, the U.N. announced Monday.

O'Brien will replace Valerie Amos who served as under-secretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief for the past four years, earning high praise for her commitment in one of the U.N.'s most demanding posts.

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U.S. Says 3,000 Troops on Exercise in Baltic States

The United States has begun to deploy 3,000 troops on a three-month exercise to reassure Russia's nervous neighbors in the Baltic, military officials said Monday.

Operation Atlantic Resolve will see major NATO forces working alongside their allies in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia -- former Soviet republics now members of the Western alliance.

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White House Decries Republican Effort to Derail Iran Talks

The White House on Monday denounced efforts by Republican lawmakers to "throw sand in the gears" of sensitive talks over Iran's nuclear program as "partisan."

Forty-seven Republicans, including Senate leaders and several potential 2016 presidential candidates, wrote an open letter to Iran's leader, warning any deal with President Barack Obama might not be honored in future.

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Turkey's Former Spy Chief Drops Election Bid

Turkey's powerful former intelligence chief announced Monday he is dropping a bid to run for parliament in the wake of criticism from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his decision to resign and seek elected office.

"As of today, I deem it necessary to withdraw my application to run... in the general elections," Fidan said in a statement carried by the state-run Anatolia news agency.

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