December, 2008

• 15 December

  Ex-UN Kosovo Chief: EULEX ‘Not Neutral’

  “The European Union is not neutral on Kosovo as 22 member states have made clear their position on Kosovo,” argues Soren Jessen Petersen, the former chief of UN Mission in Kosovo. “It is clear that Kosovo is independent and this fact cannot be changed. Kosovo is in the phase of …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Serb Minister Ugljanin ‘Will Help Hometown’

  Enis Imamovic, the spokesman for the Bosniak Ticket for European Sandzak, says party leader and minister without portfolio, Sulejman Ugljanin is a man of his word and will provide pledged aid to his home town. He told a press conference that Ugljanin would focus all his assistance on improving the …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Palestinians celebrate release from Israeli jails

  RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel released 224 prisoners in a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, prompting joyous family reunions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Families sang and danced as prison buses rolled up full of newly freed men, shouting and waving from the …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Greek police teargas youths in 2nd week of protests

  ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek police fired teargas at small groups of protesters who threw stones and firebombs in central Athens Monday in a second week of anti-government demonstrations since a policeman shot dead a teen-ager. Youths outside Athens’ main court and central police station clashed with riot police, while acts …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Iraqi justice system falls short: report

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq is failing to give criminal suspects fair trials and abuse of prisoners appears common ahead of the transfer of thousands of detainees from U.S. prison camps to Iraqi control, a human rights group said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said prisoners had to wait months and …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Hamas leaders say will not extend Gaza truce

  GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas leaders said on Sunday they did not expect to extend a six-month ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip when it expires this week, although it remained unclear whether this would mean an immediate surge in violence. Israel, which has traded fire with Palestinian Islamists in …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Gunmen kill seven from Iraqi family: police

  MOSUL (Reuters) – Gunmen killed seven people from a single family, members of the minority Yazidi sect, when they stormed into their home in northern Iraq on Monday, police said. Police said a woman, her husband, and the couple’s adult children were shot dead in the attack, which took place …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Iran, Syria to Boost Maritime Cooperation

  TEHRAN (FNA)- The fourth meeting of the Iran-Syria Maritime Transport Commission will be held in Damascus on December 23, the Iranian economic counselor in Syria, Seyed Mortaza Mortazavi, announced on Sunday. Deputy Road and Transportation Minister Ali Taheri and his Syrian counterpart will co-chair the two-day meeting, Tehran Times quoted …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Iranian Businesses Close in Support of Gaza

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Trade at Iranian bazaars was brought to a halt as merchants protest over recent Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza. On Monday morning, merchants closed their shops in the capital Tehran, and other big cities across the country to express their support for Palestinians in the …

  Read More »
• 15 December

  Iran not to Attend Persian Gulf Security Conference

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the commission’s rapporteur will not take part in the Persian Gulf security conference in Bahrain. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has decided that no Iranian diplomat attend the …

  Read More »