Iraq

BELGRADE - The members of the Serbian Armed Forces are highly valued in international missions and are making a major contribution to them, participants of a seminar on modern multinational operations said in Belgrade on Friday.

The UN refugee agency issued a report saying there was a sharp rise in asylum claims in 44 industrialized countries in 2013. driven primarily by the crisis in Syria.

UNHCR's "Asylum Trends 2013" report says 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific in 2013, which is the highest total for any year since 2001.

BELGRADE - President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Zeljko Sertic and President of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce Jaafar Al-Hamdani signed an agreement on business cooperation on Friday aimed at improving economic relations and facilitating cooperation between businessmen.

The amendment initiated by the ministry of justice follows reports that a growing number of Albanian citizens have joined radical Islamist groups fighting in the Syrian civil war.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Arjan Dyrmishi, a security expert with the Albanian Institute of Democracy and Mediation told Balkan Insight.  

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias used his appearance at a meeting of Med Group diplomats in Paris on Friday to stress the geopolitical importance of Greece?s eurozone partners helping to prevent the country?s economic collapse.