World News Blog

NATO chief congratulates Barack Obama

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Tuesday congratulated Barack Obama on his inauguration as the new president of the United States.

"President Obama takes up his responsibilities at a time when the international community faces great challenges, but also great opportunities to build a safer, more secure world. The NATO Allies, including the United States, stand together to help reach that goal," said de Hoop Scheffer.

"The United States has played a leading role within NATO since the alliance was founded in 1949. I have no doubt that President Obama will carry on that tradition," he said.

NATO, including the United States, are fighting a war in Afghanistan.

BBC News

NATO chief congratulates Obama on inauguration
Xinhua - 3 hours ago
BRUSSELS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Tuesday congratulated Barack Obama on his inauguration as the new US president.
Video: Afghanistan struggles with unemployment - 20 Jan 09 AlJazeeraEnglish
Afghanistan seeks control over NATO deployments The Associated Press

Labels: afghanistan, barack obama, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, nato

Tensions build in Crimea

Many analysts believe that the Crimea in Ukraine could be the next flashpoint after the war in Georgia.

Ukraine itself is divided between those who want closer ties with the West and those who prefer to stay within Moscow's orbit. The pro-Western coalition in Parliament has collapsed forcing a dissolution of the government.

The Crimea has a large ethnic Russian population and it is believed that Moscow is offering Russian passports to many of them. The Crimea was the site of what many consider the first "modern war" between the Western European nations of France, the United Kingdom and Sardinia, who sided with the Ottoman Empire against the Russian Empire.

Voice of America

After Georgia war, eyes turn to Crimea
Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago
By MARIA DANILOVA AP SERGEI CHUZAVKOV AP Pro-Russian activists in the Ukraine last month celebrate the anniversary of the 19th-century war over the Crimea, where about 35000 Russian troops were killed.
Yushchenko to dissolve parliament PRESS TV
Putin: Ukraine gave military aid to Georgia in war with Russia Christian Science Monitor

Labels: crimea, nato, russia, ukraine

Tensions heat up in Black Sea

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that his country would respond to the presence of NATO battleships in the Black Sea basin.

Although quick to make clear that Russia's response would be calm and measured, he questioned the use of warships to deliver humanitarian aid. About half a dozen NATO ships are presently in the area and the US has ordered the USS Mount Whitney, a Blue Ridge class command ship and the flagship of the United States navy's 6th Fleet into the Black Sea.

Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of the general staff, said that about 18 NATO vessels will be present in the Black Sea soon.

The Montreux Convention limits international traffic through Turkey's Bosporus and Dardanelles straits for countries that do not border the Black Sea. Istanbul refused to allow two US hospital ships passage through its straits because the country had passed its tonnage limit.

Russia did not specify what response it would make to the increased NATO naval presence, but it was reported that Moscow dispatched vessels to track the newly-arrived ships.

ABC News

Russian warning on Nato warships
Scotsman, United Kingdom - Aug 28, 2008
Four warships of Nato member Turkey are also in the Black Sea. Mr Putin's spokesman said: "The appearance of Nato battleships here in the Black Sea basin ...
Video: More US Aid Arrives in Georgia Amid Tension AssociatedPress
Western nations warn Russia to `change course' The Associated Press
Tension on the rise in Black Sea, Turkey stuck in the middle Hürriyet
Business Spectator - DEBKA file

Labels: black sea, nato, russia, tensions, turkey, vladimir putin

Battle kills 15 NATO, nine U.S. troops

There was more evidence of a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan after heavy fighting yesterday killed nine U.S. troops and 15 other NATO military personnel near the Pakistan border.

Many analysts believe that the renewed ability of the Taliban is possible because resources have been diverted away from Afghanistan to the "surge" in Iraq.

The insurgents fought NATO troops with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

Times Online

Nine US troops die in Taliban assault on Afghan base
guardian.co.uk - 1 hour ago
The Nato-led effort to subdue the Taliban suffered one its heaviest blows since the 2001 invasion yesterday when nine US soldiers were killed and 15 other Nato troops injured in a day-long battle in a region close to the Pakistan border.
Video: 9 US Soldiers Killed in Afghan Attack AssociatedPress
Heavy Fighting in Afghanistan Kills 9 Americans, Many Insurgents Voice of America

Labels: afghanistan, nato, Pakistan, taliban

Afghan Casualties Exceed Iraq Toll

With Washington focusing on the downturn of violence in Iraq since the beginning of the "surge," fighting has more quietly increased in Afghanistan.

In June, more U.S. and NATO troops were killed than in Iraq for the second straight month.

U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has touted the surge as a successful strategy in his campaign speeches.

US, NATO deaths in Afghanistan pass Iraq toll (AP)

AP - Militants killed more U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in June than in Iraq for the second straight month, a grim milestone capping a run of headline-grabbing insurgent attacks that analysts say underscore the Taliban's growing strength.

Other news from the region:

Washington Post

Would-be Karzai assassins were Afghans
United Press International - 3 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 30 (UPI) -- The alleged members of an assassination plot against Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai were mostly government employees, officials said.
No Afghan peace while Taliban have sanctuary - NATO Reuters
Afghan officials linked to attempt on Karzai’s life The Post