October, 2013

• 24 October

  Lebanon does not rule out taking part in Geneva 2 talks

  Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati would not rule out Thursday Lebanon taking part in the expected Geneva 2 conference aimed at a political settlement to the crisis in Syria. “I do not rule out the possibility that Lebanon may take part in the Geneva II conference on Syria,” Mikati told reporters following a security meeting at …

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• 24 October

  Syrian state TV reports that army seizes Damascus suburb from rebels

  Syrian forces seized a suburb of Damascus on Thursday from rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in a push that has shored up government control of the capital’s outskirts, state television reported.

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• 24 October

  Large-scale operation started in Mali against extremists

  French, UN and Malian forces were engaged in a major operation aimed at preventing a resurgence of Islamist rebels in Mali, the French military said Thursday. “We have engaged, with the Malian army and (UN mission) MINUSMA, in a large-scale operation” in the north of the country, French general staff …

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• 24 October

  Serbian President says Kosovo independence “cannot be recognized”

  Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić stated on Thursday that the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo “cannot be recognized.” This is true “because Serbia has the support of the UN Security Council,” according to Nikolić.

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• 24 October

  Clashes continue in Tripoli for a third day

  Clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tripoli continued for a third day Wednesday, leaving one dead and 29 wounded so far amid heavy military deployment in the northern city. Schools across Lebanon’s second largest city remained closed Wednesday as fighters in the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood exchanged rocket-propelled …

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• 24 October

  Indian border guard killed, 6 wounded in Kashmir

  An Indian border guard of Border Security Force (BSF) was killed and six others wounded in skirmishes with Pakistani border guards on the international border in Kashmir, officials said today. The border guards targeted each other in R S Pura, Arnia, Ramgarh and Akhnoor sectors last night using heavy artillery …

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• 24 October

  Turkey welcomes new EU chapter but says it’s not enough

  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has welcomed the newly announced opening of Chapter 22 in Turkey’s EU accession process by calling it a positive step. But he also said that the decision was tardy and insufficient, pointing to a significant loss of time in Turkey’s EU candidacy. Responding to …

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• 24 October

  Obama, Sharif discuss strategic partnership

  Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with US President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday for a meeting that highlighted the two countries’ shared interests “in a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan and region,” according to a joint statement released by the White House.

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• 24 October

  Egypt’s seeks to reinforce relations with Nile Basin countries

  Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said that Egypt gives high priority to reinforcing the relations with Nile Basin countries. In statements on the sidelines of his current visit to Burundi on Tuesday 22/10/2013, Fahmi said “No party could solve its own problems at the expense of another, no Nile Basin country

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• 24 October

  Turkey, Iraq seek to improve bilateral relations

  The Turkish and Iraqi governments are currently bidding to improve bilateral ties with a series of high-level visits. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari is expected to arrive inAnkara on Oct. 25 to conduct a series of meetings with Turkish officials, including his Turkish counterpart

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