December, 2007

• 8 December

  NATO stages offensive to retake town from Taliban

  KABUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) – NATO and Afghan troops have launched an operation to drive out the Taliban from a southern Afghan town held by the Islamic militants since early this year, a NATO statement said.

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• 7 December

  Putin party to name presidential candidate December 17

  MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party will name its candidate for next year’s presidential election at a congress on December 17, party leader Boris Gryzlov said on Friday.

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• 7 December

  Kremlin and Belarus dismiss report of new Putin role

  MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian and Belarus officials rejected on Friday a media report that President Vladimir Putin could create a new role for himself by heading a union of Russia and ex-Soviet Belarus after he quits next year.

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• 7 December

  NATO nations pledge tough Kosovo force

  BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO ministers pledged on Friday to keep their KFOR peace force in Kosovo at current strength as the Serbian province heads towards independence and to make more troops available as necessary to deal with any violence.

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• 7 December

  Lebanon presidential vote delayed to Tuesday

  BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s presidential election was postponed again on Friday, despite rival leaders’ agreement in principle to give the post to army chief Michel Suleiman in a step that would ease the country’s deep political crisis.

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• 7 December

  Police investigate violent death of Russia banker

  MOSCOW (Reuters) – Investigators are probing the death of a top manager at Russia’s second largest bank VTB, who was found with his arms and legs bound in a swimming pool, police and law enforcement sources said on Friday.

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• 7 December

  Turkey ruling Party looks to ease headscarf ban

  ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party, which has Islamist roots, signaled on Friday it plans to ease a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in universities under a new draft constitution.

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• 7 December

  Small pro-Putin party won’t contest president vote

  MOSCOW (Reuters) – Fair Russia, a small political party backing President Vladimir Putin, will not nominate its own candidate for a presidential election in March, the party’s leader said on Friday.

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• 7 December

  Bombers kill 26 in restive Iraq province

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A female suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 16 people and a suicide car bomb killed 10 in two attacks in Iraq’s most restive province northeast of Baghdad on Friday.

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• 7 December

  Sectarian tensions erupt in Iraqi lawmaker row

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A Shi’ite lawmaker and the head of Iraq’s main Sunni Arab bloc shouted accusations at each other in parliament on Thursday, underscoring deep sectarian divisions just days after Sunnis ended a brief boycott of the legislature.

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