Eurasia Press & News
Macedonia’s two ethnic Albanian parties, the ruling Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, and the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, picked their own presidential candidates for the March 22 elections, pushing the total number of presidential hopefulls to ten. DUI picked its vice president Agron Buxhaku as the party’s sole …
Read More »Experts Differ on Albania’s EU Bid Timing
Albanian think-tanks that monitor the EU accession process disagree on whether the country’s application for EU candidate status should come during the Czech presidency or later. Greece’s ratification of Albania’s Stabilization and Association Agreement, SAA, with the European Union last week was the final step in the formal approval process …
Read More »Obama Afghan strategy to stress non-military role
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to extend government control beyond the capital and fight corruption in a new U.S. policy that will have a “significant non-military component,” a White House official said on Wednesday. The White House is conducting a review of all aspects …
Read More »NATO says killed 97 Afghan civilians in 2008
BRUSSELS – NATO-led forces killed nearly 100 civilians in operations against militants in Afghanistan last year, the alliance said on Wednesday, while blaming insurgents for the deaths of 10 times that number. Civilian casualties have eroded public support for President Hamid Karzai’s government and foreign troops backing it. It has …
Read More »EU says will invite Iran to Afghan conference
PRAGUE – The European Union said on Wednesday it would invite Iran to a conference on Afghanistan. Calls have grown in the international community to engage Iran in both regional diplomacy and in direct talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the planned conference would …
Read More »Russia offers Obama olive branch on missiles: report
MOSCOW – Russia has halted plans to deploy missiles near the Polish border, a Russian news agency quoted the military as saying on Wednesday, in what could be a sign Moscow is seeking better ties with the new U.S. president. But there was no official confirmation and a Kremlin official …
Read More »As Afghanistan hots up, private security moves in
LONDON – Private security companies are expanding operations in Afghanistan as the war there heats up, but industry experts say those that made fortunes in Iraq may find business much tougher in the new market. As Iraq has grown more stable, Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is strong, has been …
Read More »Russian missile move a good step if confirmed: NATO
BRUSSELS – A reported Russian move to halt deployment of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad would be a good step if confirmed, NATO said on Wednesday. “The earlier Russian announcement that they were going to deploy missiles into Kaliningrad and point them at NATO allies was unwelcome. If that decision has …
Read More »Violence falls under new leader in Russia’s Ingushetia
NAZRAN, Russia – A new president in Russia’s mainly Muslim Ingushetia region has taken the heat out of a simmering rebellion by restoring some trust in the regional authorities. Although violence still scars Ingushetia, residents say it has decreased since Yunus-Bek Yevkurov replaced former secret police officer Murat Zyazikov in …
Read More »Pakistan’s Zardari calls on U.S. to boost aid
WASHINGTON – Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari called on the United States on Wednesday to boost both military and non-military aid to his country to help it fight extremists. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Zardari said U.S. President Barack Obama should push Congress to pass legislation introduced …
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