BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is to send experts to Niger to train its security forces to fight al Qaeda, signaling the depth of EU concern over the growing threat Islamist militancy poses to Africa’s Sahel region.

The mission, approved by EU governments on Monday, will start work next month in the Niger capital Niamey.

PARIS, June 14 (Reuters) – Behind the wheeling and dealing
at one of the world’s biggest arms shows this week, weapons
makers are feeling the strain from shrinking Western defence
budgets and could be forced into mergers or joint projects to
survive.

A fearsome array of weapons and military equipment, ranging
from assault rifles to tanks and sophisticated drones, was on
display at Eurosatory, a week-long fair near Paris that defence
firms from around the world use to showcase their wares.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – NATO put on a brave face at its Chicago summit but the reality is that the alliance has been weakened by the euro zone crisis and faces an identity crisis about what its role will be once it ends its intervention in Afghanistan in 2014.

NATO leaders sealed a landmark agreement to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of the unpopular, decade-long war.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – NATO put on a brave face at its Chicago summit but the reality is that the alliance has been weakened by the euro zone crisis and faces an identity crisis about what its role will be once it ends its intervention in Afghanistan in 2014.

NATO leaders sealed a landmark agreement to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of the unpopular, decade-long war.

CHICAGO, May 21 (Reuters) – NATO leaders sealed a landmark
agreement on Monday to hand control of Afghanistan over to its
own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the
Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of an unpopular,
decade-long war.

A NATO summit in Chicago formally committed to a U.S.-backed
strategy that calls for a gradual exit of foreign combat troops
by the end of 2014 but left major questions unanswered about how
to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after the
allies are gone.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – NATO leaders sealed a landmark agreement on Monday to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of an unpopular, decade-long war.

A NATO summit in Chicago formally committed to a U.S.-backed strategy that calls for a gradual exit of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014 but left major questions unanswered about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after the allies are gone.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David
Cameron and new French President Francois Hollande clashed on
Friday over the need for a financial transactions tax to fund
growth but played down other differences over how to respond to
the euro zone debt crisis.

Both leaders said after a first 35-minute meeting at the
British ambassador’s residence in Washington that they backed
measures to cut deficits and spur growth in Europe, glossing
over differences between Hollande’s pro-growth stance and
Cameron’s emphasis on reducing debt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pressed Europe on Friday to shift toward a more pro-growth policy and away from austerity to tackle a crisis that threatens to push Greece out of the euro zone and send economic shockwaves worldwide.

Setting the tone for a weekend G8 summit, Obama made clear he was aligning himself with the new French president’s drive for more economic stimulus in the recession-plagued euro zone instead of emphasizing belt-tightening programs spearheaded by Germany.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David
Cameron will tell leaders of some of the world’s biggest
economies on Friday that they must work together to stop the
economic crisis afflicting the euro zone from spreading
worldwide.

Cameron’s message to other Group of Eight leaders, who begin
a summit on Friday at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp
David, Maryland, would be that “we need to work together to
protect ourselves against global contagion from the economic
crisis and to promote global trade,” an aide to Cameron said.

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday he would hold talks with new French President Francois Hollande before an international summit this week, confident they would find “common ground” on how to tackle Europe’s economic crisis.

Like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Cameron has backed tough austerity policies to tackle Europe’s debt and deficit problems while the newly-elected Hollande has vowed to shift the focus to growth.