Category: Blogs

EU defence ambitions stuck in no-man’s land

By AFP

Update: NATO activities in Libya on July 9

By NATO

France tells Libya rebels to seek peace with Gaddafi

By Lamine Chikhi, Reuters

From Lamine Chikhi, Reuters:  With no imminent end to the conflict in sight, cracks are emerging inside the NATO alliance. Some member states are balking at the burden on their recession-hit finances, and many are frustrated that there has been no decisive breakthrough.

French Libya military mission costs almost $230 million

By John Irish, Reuters

From John Irish, Reuters:  French military operations in Libya have cost 160 million euros ($228.9 million), Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse said on Saturday, just days before a key parliamentary debate on extending operations.

Georgian journalist says he spied for Russia

By Misha Dzhindzhikhaahvili, the AP

From Misha Dzhindzhikhaahvili, the AP:  The personal photographer to the Georgian president was shown on television Saturday confessing to supplying a colleague with secret information that was then sent to a Russian secret service.

Gaddafi again threatens to attack Europe with suicide bombers

By David Zucchino, the Los Angeles Times

From David Zucchino, the Los Angeles Times:  For the second time in a week, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi has threatened to dispatch hundreds of Libyan suicide bombers to attack targets in Europe in retaliation for NATO strikes against his regime. "Hundreds of Libyans will martyr in Europe," Kadafi said late Friday in a defiant speech […]

Europe’s last dictator

By David J. Kramer and A. Wess Mitchell, the Washington Post

From David J. Kramer and A. Wess Mitchell, the Washington Post:  Dubbed the last dictator in Europe, Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko is under growing domestic and international pressure because of his gross human rights abuses and responsibility for his country’s worst economic crisis since gaining independence 20 years ago.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on July 8

By NATO

The Realist Prism: Countdown Begins on NATO-Russia BMD Deal

By Nikolas Gvosdev, World Policy Review

From Nikolas Gvosdev, World Policy Review:  Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has set a timer in motion for resolving the outstanding differences between the North Atlantic alliance and Russia over a proposed ballistic missile defense system in Europe.