NATO to revamp rules to counter threats
BRUSSELS – Top NATO brass on Thursday agreed on changes to recommend in the alliance’s force posture and decision-making procedures to better deal with a more aggressive Russia and other security threats.
“We’ll continue to work on those readiness and responsiveness issues that bring our force to a better position to be able to react to all challenges,” from the Arctic to the Middle East and North Africa, said U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe.
Breedlove told a news conference that the 28-nation alliance is also considering fine-tuning how it takes military and political decisions so “these new capabilities that we are developing can be brought to bear at speed.”
Thousands protest in Moldovan capital
CHISINAU, Moldova – Thousands of people held an anti-government protest Thursday in the Moldovan capital, a day after the legislature approved a new pro-European government.
Protesters gathered outside government offices and Parliament in Chisinau to protest Prime Minister Pavel Filip, the former technology minister and ex-candy factory manager, who presented his Cabinet of politicians and specialists to President Nicolae Timofti late Wednesday.
It was the second day of protests. Scuffles broke out Wednesday between police and the protesters who stormed the Parliament, injuring 15 people, including nine police officers. On Thursday, protesters blocked a main artery in the capital as they staged a protest.
Jewish settlers take over stores in Hebron
JERUSALEM – Dozens of Jewish settlers took over a number of Palestinian buildings in the heart of the West Bank city of Hebron Thursday, Israeli officials said, a day after Israel approved the expropriation of some 370 acres of land in another part of the territory.
Police said about 100 settlers entered three “empty stores.” Israeli media said the settlers entered two buildings near an important shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims.
Zeev Elkin, a pro-settler lawmaker from the ruling Likud party, said in a statement the settlers entered houses that were bought legally, a claim that could not immediately be independently verified. Elkin praised the settlers for “expanding the Jewish presence” in the city.
Associated Press
