World in Brief, Jan. 26

(Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

Greece

Greek Farmers Continue Road Blocks

Greek farmers have put the country, already hit hard by the global economic crisis, on hold by using tractors to block highways and roads at strategic locations throughout the country. The blockade has lasted over a week. Greek farmers are demanding more subsidies and higher prices for their products. So far, the Greek government has not met the farmers’ demands. On Monday, the country’s minister of Agriculture, Katerina Batzeli said that the government “is determined to make the necessary institutional changes,” to solve the problems in the agriculture sector, Greek media reported. The blocked highways, impinging on traffic between large Greek cities and the Balkan states has sparked reaction in the region with Bulgaria demanding $14 million in compensation for business losses.

European Union

EU to Train Somali Troops

The European Union will send 200 troops to Somalia to train 2,000 Somali soldiers in their battle against the Islamist militants that keep large parts of the country in their grip, reported the BBC. Spain will lead the EU mission that is expected to take a year and will start this spring. The transitional Somali government had requested external help to build up a police force. Commentators say that the increase of piracy off the Somali coast is tightly connected to the civil war and the Islamist insurgency on land.

Ukraine

Russian Ambassador Arrives in Ukraine After Five Months

Five months after being appointed as Russian ambassador to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov, arrived in Ukraine on Monday. Russia had refused to send it’s ambassador earlier after disagreements between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and pro-western Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko. With Yushcenko out of the race to become president for a second mandate, after not making it through the first round of votes last week, Russia decided to dispatch its ambassador. Russia’s move comes as former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and pro-Russian candidate Victor Yanukovich, are in a heated election campaign with the second round of voting to take place on Feb. 7.

Slovakia

Three Guantanamo Bay Inmates Arrive in Slovakia

Three inmates from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arrived in Slovakia on Sunday, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The identities of the prisoners have not been revealed. President Obama had initially set the deadline for closing Guantanamo Bay prison as Jan. 22, 2010. The Slovak foreign ministry said that the transfer of the prisoners was to help speed up the closure. Currently there are 193 terror suspects remaining in the facility, according to Reuters.

Turkey

Afghan Presidents Welcomes Former Taliban Back

Turkish President Abdullah Gul received his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts on Monday, in a meeting to discuss mutual cooperation in fighting the Taliban, ahead of a major conference on the development of Afghanistan later this week in London. In what seems a change of approach toward the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said at a press conference after the meeting that he welcomed former Taliban insurgents back into Afghan society. He said that former Taliban members who are not part of terrorist networks are welcome back in the country to live under the Afghan constitution. Hamid says that this new approach has support from the U.S. government.