November, 2013

• 6 November

  Turkey says it could lose desire to join EU

  Turkey will keep implementing reforms oriented towards eventual EU accession, but its desire to join the union might not last for too long, stated Turkish President Abullah Gul. Tuesday Gul was on an official visit to Norway, where he met Norwegian King Harald V.

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• 6 November

  France says it won’t delay Mali troop withdrawing

  France will stick to its timetable for withdrawing troops from Mali despite a resurgence in violence and the killing of two French journalists, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday. France, which sent soldiers to its former colony in January to combat militants who had taken over large swathes of Mali, has already delayed by …

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• 6 November

  Mali: over 35 arrests over French journalist killings

  At least 35 suspects have been arrested in 48 hours as the hunt intensifies for the killers of two French journalists shot dead in Mali’s rebel-infested north, sources in the west African nation said. Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and killed by what French officials called …

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• 6 November

  Tunisian crisis continues after failing to agree on new PM

  There was no end in sight Tuesday to Tunisia’s months-long political crisis after ruling Islamists and the opposition failed to agree on an independent premier following two missed deadlines.

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• 6 November

  Bulgarian President to discuss refugees with Security Council

  Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev has called the Consultative Council for National Security for a sitting on November 20. The formal title of the meeting abstractly mentions “Current risks and

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• 5 November

  Diplomats gather in Geneva to prepare peace conference on Syria

  The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria will meet with senior diplomats in Geneva on Tuesday in a new bid to prepare a long-delayed peace conference amid continued wrangling over who will take part. Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will first hold talks with Russian deputy foreign ministers

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• 5 November

  Turkey, EU will open Chapter 22

  Turkey and the European Union will open Chapter 22, which concerns regional policy and the coordination of structural instruments, on Tuesday at the Intergovernmental Accession Conference, thus ending a three-year hiatus in Turkey’s accession talks.

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• 5 November

  Hague Prosecutor visits Serbia

  Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz is in Belgrade where he is conferring with Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević. He is also meeting with representatives of the international community.

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• 5 November

  Belgrade, Pristina to hold new round of talks

  Serbian PM Ivica Dačić, his first deputy Aleksandar Vučić, and Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci will meet on Wednesday in Brussels.

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• 5 November

  Turkish army captures chemical agents on border with Syria

  The Turkish armed forced intercepted a three-vehicle convoy loaded with sulfur and other suspected chemical weapon agents from Syria. The convoy illegally crossed into in Reyhanli town, Hatay province, south Turkey, on Saturday, the military

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