Britain delays pulling troops out of Iraq
1 April 2008 - Britain will delay pulling up to 1,500 troops out of Iraq due to recent unrest in the southern city of Basra, Defence Secretary Des Browne said on Tuesday. British defence officials said last year that all troops could be pulled from the country by 2009, but that now looks unlikely given the instability that has ensued since Britain handed responsibility for Basra to Iraqi forces last September. (more)

France may send additional troops to Afghanistan
1 April 2008 - France may send a few hundred additional troops to Afghanistan to help NATO allies fight the Taliban and train the Afghan army, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Tuesday. France already has some 1,500 troops based in Afghanistan serving as part of a 47,000-strong NATO force and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce later this week that the contingent will be reinforced. (more)

Palestine: Sick Gazans die in 'avoidable tragedies' - WHO
1 April 2008 - Israel has turned away more sick Palestinians from Gaza seeking treatment since Hamas seized control of the enclave and several have died each month unnecessarily, a U.N. agency said on Tuesday. The WHO said the number of applicants and the percentage of those turned away surged after Hamas Islamists seized control of Gaza in June, the crossing to Egypt was closed and Israel tightened restrictions on the enclave. (more)

US: Biotech giant Monsanto to buy vegetable seed company
1 April 2008 - Monsanto Co on Monday said it has agreed to acquire Netherlands-based De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V., which operates De Ruiter Seeds, for $860 million (546 million euros), to expand the agricultural biotech company's presence in the vegetable seeds business. The move comes three years after Monsanto began aggressively moving into the vegetable seed arena with the $1.4 billion purchase in 2005 of California-based Seminis, which gave Monsanto control over more than 30 percent of the North American vegetable seed market, as well as more than 20 percent of the world's tomato seed market and more than 30 percent of the global hot pepper seed market. (more)

Czech Republic: Prime Minister says US radar deal almost ready
31 March 2008 - An agreement on building part of a US missile defence shield in the Czech Republic is almost ready for signing, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek was quoted as saying on Monday. Russia has fiercely opposed the plan, which would site US military installations in its Soviet-era satellite states, and views it as a threat to its security. (more)

Hungarian government teeters on edge of collapse
31 March 2008 - Hungary's government moved closer to collapse on Monday after Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany sacked a minister from the junior coalition party in a move that could spell the end of economic reforms. The row between Gyurcsany's Socialists and the smaller Alliance of Free Democrats, both reeling from poor poll ratings, may also imperil its budget deficit cuts and possibly see the Prime Minister ousted. (more)