A contingent of 150 Macedonian troops headed to Afghanistan on Monday to join the ISAF peacekeeping mission. The country had so far sent 90 peacekeepers. The troops will serve as part of the UK contingent in the capital Kabul where they will be tasked with securing the main command of …

The timeframe for the end of Croatia’s European Union accession negotiations should be taken lightly, said Slovene President Danilo Tuerk, pointing to the outstanding issue of Slovenia’s border dispute with its southern neighbour. The President of Slovenia said on Sunday Croatia should use the first months of this year to …

Montenegro wants Kosovo to recognise the Montenegrin minority in Kosovo as one of the preconditions for taking their diplomatic relations to a higher level by appointing an ambassador to Pristina. Montenegro recognized Kosovo Albanians’ declaration of independence late last year over the protests of its Serbian minority. Montenegrin President Filip …

he European Union’s silence over Greece’ veto to Macedonia’s NATO membership bid echoes the complacency of Europe to the agressive policies of Nazi Germany before World War Two, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told local media. Speaking to local media on Sunday, Gruevki referred to Athens blocking Skopje’s NATO invitation …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli troops backed by air strikes fought to seize ground from Hamas militants deep inside the Gaza Strip on Monday despite international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict that has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days. More than 30 civilians, including children, were killed …

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a peace-brokering tour of the Middle East by calling on Monday for a ceasefire between Israel’s army and Hamas Islamists, locked in combat in the Gaza Strip. In the first half of his two-day visit to the region, Sarkozy said Israel had …

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – Russia reduced gas flows to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, a measure it said was to stop its neighbor siphoning off fuel but which Kiev said could jeopardize supplies to European countries including Germany. Countries in southern and eastern Europe reported new falls in gas supplies from …

LONDON (Reuters) – Iraq earned about $60 billion from average crude oil sales of 1.85 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2008, a top Iraqi oil official said on Monday. Shipments rose by about 200,000 bpd on the previous year and revenues were up about $20 billion, according to data …

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Hamas is open to international initiatives for a truce in Gaza but insists any proposal must guarantee Israeli withdrawal and an end to the blockade on the besieged territory, an exiled Hamas leader said on Monday. Moussa Abu Marzouk vowed that the Palestinian Islamic group would keep …

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian police detained dozens of people including prominent members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement on Monday to prevent them demonstrating against Israel’s ground attack in the Gaza Strip. Riot police reached Tahrir Square in central Cairo early in the day to thwart the Brotherhood’s plans for …