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Darfur talks in Danger

On Wednesday October 24, UN envoy in Darfur, Jan Eliasson said, speaking from Eritrea via videoconference to New York, that it is still unclear exactly how many rebel leaders will participate in the peace talks in Sirte, Libya. The peace conference scheduled to begin on Saturday faces the risk of …

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Ottawa lobbying NATO allies for help in Afghanistan

Canada is putting pressure on individual NATO allies for support in southern Afghanistan, but no definite troop commitments have been made. “They will be badgering, questioning, pushing France, Italy, Spain and other countries to get involved in the south, to take on a much stronger combat role,” CTV’s Paul Workman …

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War cost in Afghanistan, Iraq could go to $2.4 trillion in next decade

WASHINGTON | The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion in the next decade, according to a nonpartisan budget analysis issued Wednesday. The White House dismissed the figures from the Congressional Budget Office as hypothetical. “We are on an unsustainable fiscal path, and something has …

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Hopes for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement

Russia hopes final protocol of Joint Control Commission on Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement will be signed. Russian Co-Chair of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement Yuri Popov hopes that during the talks in Tbilisi the sides will manage to sign a final protocol of the meeting.

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Iran defiant on nuclear stance

  Iran will not retreat “one iota” from its nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said, as his new chief negotiator met Western diplomats for the first time.

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NATO under pressure for more Afghan troops

The United States will lead pressure on European allies to supply more troops and equipment to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan at NATO talks on Wednesday but could come away frustrated, alliance sources said. Defence chiefs will however reaffirm their commitment to maintaining a 17,000-strong peace force in the breakaway …

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NATO defense talks likely to focus on Afghanistan, Turkey

The mounting tension on Turkey’s border with Iraq and U.S. demands for European allies to do more in Afghanistan are expected to dominate a meeting of NATO defense ministers opening Wednesday in the Netherlands. Although not on the official agenda, the situation on Turkey’s southeastern frontier risks overshadowing the two-day …

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