December, 2008

• 23 December

  Turkey To Back Kosovo In International Arena

  urkey will support Kosovo within the United Nations when it becomes a temporary member of the Security Council in January 2009, a senior Turkish official said. “From the beginning of 2009, Turkey will be a temporary member of the UN Security Council … and wishes that Kosovo become a member …

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• 23 December

  US Convicts Brothers Of Foiled Attack Plot

  A United States court found the three brothers Dritan, Shain and Elvir Duka, ethnic Albanians born in western Macedonia, guilty of a conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers at the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey last year, local media said on Tuesday. A Jordanian-born and a Turkish-born U.S. citizen …

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• 23 December

  Czechs Might Pull Troops From Kosovo

  The Czech Republic is considering withdrawing its troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, due to opposition objections in Prague over the country’s presence in military missions abroad. The some 400 Czech soldiers serving in Kosovo play a major role in KFOR operations as they operate along the border …

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• 23 December

  Cause of Fire in Bosnia Mosque Disputed

  n independent expert has disputed the conclusion of the official investigation, saying the mosque in the village of Fazlagica Kula was not razed by accident but in “professionally planed and executed” arson attack. “Our suspicions have been confirmed because the findings of this expert are completely different from the findings …

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• 23 December

  Serb Politicians Flaunt Presence in Kosovo

  Two Serbian ministers cut the ribbon in a post office in the Kosovo town of Gracanica on Monday, a move meant to showcase Belgrade’s hold on Serb areas of its former province. Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic, and minister for Local Government Milan Markovic, did not inform Kosovo’s Albanian …

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• 23 December

  Hamas offers to study fresh Gaza truce with Israel

  GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas would consider renewing a lapsed truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, but wants guarantees the Jewish state will halt incursions and keep border crossings open for supplies of aid and fuel, a spokesman said on Tuesday. Gaza’s Islamist leaders had initially ruled out extending the …

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• 23 December

  Russia demands changed mandate for OSCE in Georgia

  MOSCOW (Reuters) – Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe can only patrol in Georgia next year if their mandate is changed to take account of Moscow’s concerns, Russia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. The OSCE said on Monday it would start shutting down its mission in …

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• 23 December

  India wants Pakistan action, not “war hysteria”

  NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India asked Pakistan on Tuesday to avoid “war hysteria” and simply act to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure operating in its country. “The issue is not war, the issue is terror and territory in Pakistan being used to promote, aid and abet this terror,” Prime Minister Manmohan …

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• 23 December

  Kosovo threatens to ban products from Serbia

  MERDARE, Kosovo (Reuters) – Kosovo threatened on Tuesday to ban products coming from Serbia if Belgrade does not reverse its policy of blocking goods that carry a customs stamp from its former province. Since early December, Serbia has refused to allow in products with labels reading “Customs of Kosovo” because …

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• 23 December

  Iraq parliament approves British troop measure

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament approved a measure on Tuesday that clears the way for troops from Britain, Australia and a handful of other nations to remain in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year’s end, a senior lawmaker said. “We authorize the government to take all necessary steps …

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