Eurasia

160 UN peacekeepers in Mali desert over pay dispute

A group of 160 Chadian troops from the United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali have deserted their posts in a dispute over pay and conditions, a military source and the soldiers themselves said Sept. 17. A Chadian army captain claiming to be the leader of the deserters said his men …

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NATO says Syria military option should stay open

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday that the threat of military action should remain on the table to make Syria keep its promises on giving up chemical weapons. Speaking after he met British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Rasmussen welcomed the recent US-Russian agreement under which the …

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Barroso expressed position in favour of Bulgarian, Romanian Schengen entry

The President of the European Commission (EC) Jose Manuel Barroso has reaffirmed his strong position in favour of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. Barroso said that both Bulgaria and Romania have met the criteria for Schengen area membership and should be given a chance to enter the zone as soon as possible.

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Libya calls for foreign help to restore stability

Libya’s prime minister on Tuesday appealed to the outside world to help restore security, as it combats political chaos and tries to restart oil exports, crippled by protesters at a cost of $130m a day in lost income. Ali Zeidan met with his British counterpart David Cameron, who two years …

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Egypt increases efforts to restore stability across the country

Director of the media division at Egypt’s Interior Ministry, Brig. Gen. Ayman Helmy, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that 121 police officers were killed, and 1,082 injured, as part of operations to restore stability across the country following the nation-wide Muslim Brotherhood protests in response to former president Mohamed Mursi’s ouster. He added that …

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Serbian President visits Bulgaria

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić is on Wednesday traveling to Bulgaria for an official two-day visit to the neighboring country. Nikolić will meet with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Bulgarian top officials, states a release issued by the president’s press service. During the official visit, a Serbian-Bulgarian Forum entitled “Sofia 2013” …

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Serbian minister says there are no new requirements for EU integration

The European Commission “supports Serbia’s efforts towards EU integration and has no new requirements,” says Branko Ružić. The minister without portfolio in in the Serbian government in charge of EU integration spoke on Tuesday after he and head of Serbia’s team for EU

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Turkey says UN report shows that Syrian gov’t is responsible for chemical attack

After the release of a UN report, Turkey claimed to be certain that the chemical weapons attack in Damascus on Aug. 21 was committed by the Syrian regime, both in a written statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tuesday’s statements from Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. Saying …

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