January, 2009

• 29 January

  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 …

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• 29 January

  Afghan elections in August as violence rises

  KABUL  – Afghanistan on Thursday announced presidential elections for August 20, hoping a U.S. troop surge will improve security at a time when violence is at the highest levels since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban. President Hamid Karzai has strongly hinted he will run for re-election saying he still …

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• 29 January

  NATO says enough time to reinforce Afghan poll

  BRUSSELS  – NATO said Thursday it was pleased an election date had been announced in Afghanistan and said it would give the alliance enough time to deploy sufficient reinforcements to help protect the vote. Afghanistan said Thursday it would hold presidential polls on August 20, only the second time the …

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• 29 January

  Violence threatens Gaza truce as Obama envoy visits

  GAZA  – Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes threatened on Thursday to undermine efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy to reinforce a fragile Gaza ceasefire. Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip launched one rocket into Israel late on Wednesday — the first since the January …

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• 29 January

  Iraqis vote in al Qaeda’s last stronghold

  MOSUL, Iraq  – In Iraq’s most violent province, where al Qaeda and a medley of insurgent groups are making a last stand, an election in two days could help bring peace or stoke fresh conflict between Arabs and Kurds. Iraqis vote on Saturday for the first time since 2005 in …

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• 29 January

  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 …

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• 29 January

  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 …

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• 29 January

  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 …

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• 29 January

  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 …

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• 29 January

  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 …

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