Russia accuses NATO of destabilizing Caucasus with Georgia drills

Georgian soldiers march during a farewell ceremony at the Vaziani military base outside Tbilisi, on March 24, 2016. Servicemen are departing to Afghanistan to take part in the NATO-led peace support mission. (AFP)

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

  • Russia has accused NATO of seeking to destabilize the Caucasus region with upcoming joint exercises in Georgia, where US soldiers will train together with Georgian forces this month. Russian Foreign Ministry also described the training of the Georgian forces by NATO troops as provocative.
  • Turkey has sentenced two opposition journalists who had revealed the country’s arms shipments to Syria to six years in jail. The Editor-in-chief of Jumhuriyet daily Can Dundar and his colleague Erdam Gol were arrested in November 2014. The journalists have condemned the verdict.
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the European Union’s request for making changes to the country’s so-called anti-terror laws under the existing deal on refugees. The EU has agreed to grant Turkish citizens visa-free travel if Ankara makes amendments to its terrorism legislation.
  • US President Barack Obama urges the scrutiny of every presidential nominee in response to questions about his thoughts on Republican candidate Donald Trump. Obama said the statements and policy positions of all the candidates should be closely examined, adding that presidential election is not a reality show.
  • Shootings at two shopping centers in the US state of Maryland have left at least two people dead and two others wounded. Authorities have arrested an officer with the US Department of Homeland Security on suspicion of being behind the deadly shootings in Washington suburbs.
  • Main British opposition Labour Party’s candidate Sadiq Khan wins London mayoral election, beating Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith. The British-Pakistani lawmaker has become the first directly elected Muslim mayor in a major European capital. Voter turnout in the capital was about 46 percent this year.
  • President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU lacks a coherent European vision. He added that the shared sentiment of common policy-making in the EU has vanished in the 28-member bloc. Juncker made the remarks during a debate on the state of the EU in Rome.
  • The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has criticized Saudi Arabia for listing the movement as a terrorist organization. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah’s enemies will lose in their battle against the movement. He also warned of warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

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