Britain, France, Germany call for UN Afghan conference

September 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The world powers led by the US will insist in a meeting Thursday with an Iranian delegation that Tehran immediately open its newly revealed nuclear plant to international inspectors, the Washington Post reported online. The existence of the second Iranian nuclear facility was revealed Friday in an announcment by US President Barack Obama, who joined with leaders from Britain and France to accuse Tehran of concealing from UN inspectors the plant, which is believed to be intended for enriching uranium.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - Britain and France feared the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 would return Nazi-era ambitions to Germany. East German border guards demolished a section of the wall on November 11, 1989 Secret British government documents to be published on Friday reveal the deep anxieties felt by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Frangois Mitterrand, following the fall of the wall.

September 9th, 2009 3 European leaders call for UN Afghan conferencePARIS — Three European powers called Wednesday for a new international conference on Afghanistan, hoping to accelerate and improve training of local forces and lay out a timetable in which Afghans can take back full control of their war-battered country. Britain's Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, and Germany's Angela Merkel sent a letter to U.N.

September 6th, 2009 BERLIN - Germany and Britain announced a new initiative Sunday for an international conference on Afghanistan, to be held later this year after the outcome of the Afghan presidential election is known. The gathering, at a venue still to be decided, would be held to discuss the best way forward for Afghanistan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in Berlin.

September 4th, 2009 LONDON - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee began meeting with his counteparts from Brazil, Russia and China ahead of a G20 meeting here Friday, as two key European leaders said India should help replenish a massive funding gap in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mukherjee, participating in his first Group of 20 meeting as finance minister, met Guido Mantega of Brazil, Xie Xuren of China and Alexey Kudrin of Russia to firm up the position of the BRIC group ahead of the full G20 meeting Saturday.

September 4th, 2009 LONDON - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee began meeting with his counteparts from the G20 group of countries here Friday, as two key European leaders said India should help replenish a massive funding gap in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). European Union funding for the IMF is a major issue at the Sep 4-5 G20 finance ministers' meet, which could also see India, China, Brazil and Russia demand being given a greater say in the running of the IMF, including a bigger share of voting rights.

August 31st, 2009 Germany, France reinforce Iran sanctions threatBERLIN — Germany and France on Monday reinforced a call for Iran to respond to concerns about its nuclear program in September or face tougher sanctions, and said they wanted wide international agreement on those measures. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed to a Group of Eight leaders' agreement in July to reevaluate their position on Iran at a G-20 summit in late September.

August 13th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Europe's economy remained stuck in recession, with second quarter figures out Thursday showing gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 0.3 percent in the European Union and by 0.1 percent in the eurozone on the quarter. The flash estimates by the European statistical office Eurostat dashed hopes of an earlier-than-expected recovery after two of the EU's biggest economies - Germany and France - posted positive GDP figures.

July 31st, 2009 BRUSSELS - The last time NATO handed over to a new secretary general, in 2004, the alliance had 19 members, a handful of troops in Afghanistan and a diplomatic hangover from the US-led Iraq war. When Denmark's former prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 56, takes over the role Saturday, he will inherit a club which has grown to 28 members, an Afghan mission numbering 64,500 men and diplomatic headaches stretching from Georgia to the Gulf of Aden.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - France and Brazil have backed India's call for the UN Security Council to be expanded as their leaders prepare to attend the G8-G5 meetings in Italy this week. "To be effective, the (Security) Council has to reflect current realities, notably by granting a greater role to the big developing countries of each region like Brazil and India and a fairer representation for Africa and the big contributors to the UN system like Japan and Germany," French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva said in a joint article published in the French daily Liberation Tuesday.

June 5th, 2009 RAMSTEIN - US President Barack Obama flew Friday evening from the US airbase in Ramstein, ending a busy day of activities in Germany. Numerous American families were on hand to wave farewell to Obama as he boarded Air Force One for his flight to Paris.

May 28th, 2009 BERLIN - German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Iran has an important role to play in Afghanistan as the global community look for ways to stabilise the worsening security situation in that country. Jung said Iran could have an "important influence" in fighting cross-border drug trafficking, which is a major source of revenue fuelling the Afghan insurgency.

May 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to form a joint border security force. Addressing a press conference, the Interior Ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan also said that both the countries would exchange prisoners.

April 29th, 2009 Australia to send 450 more troops to AfghanistanCANBERRA, Australia — Australia announced Wednesday it will increase by almost one half its troops in Afghanistan to about 1,550 as part of the U.S.-led surge of international forces to bolster the faltering fight against Taliban insurgents. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has mostly played down prospects of increasing Australia's commitment against Afghan insurgents since taking office in 2007, said he had been persuaded to increase the deployment during discussions last week with President Barack Obama.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said there is a need for an international 'umpire' to ensure that rich nations are fulfilling their pledges. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs a new monitoring body - an 'expert crew' - to ensure that any stimulus packages agreed by the Group of 20 (G20) leaders meeting in London are 'sustained and maintained' next year.