EU leaders Wednesday night in a ceremony in Athens officially inaugurated the six-month Greek Presidency of the EU, stressing the support of Brussels for Greece to overcome its economic and political crisis.

A special Pakistani court formed to hear the treason case against the former president Pervez Musharraf issued an order on Thursday for his appearance at its next hearing which has been adjourned to January 16.

France will reduce its troop numbers in Mali, where it routed Islamic radicals last year, to 1,600 troops by mid-February, according to the French President Francois Hollande.