Free Republic

PARIS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that it was crucial an upcoming European Union summit, the first since Britain voted to leave the bloc, addressed the EU's weaknesses with a plan for reforms. Britain's Brexit vote sent shockwaves through the European Unions long deemed by many voters to be overly bureaucratic and unresponsive to their concerns, while energizing the continent's anti-immigration, eurosceptic parties. "It is now about applying an agenda for Bratislava that makes clear we are determined to react together to the weaknesses, to the tasks we face," Merkel told...

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2006 – Afghan security forces are making tremendous strides, but challenges remain, the lead U.S. trainer for the force said today. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Durbin, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, speaks to Pentagon reporters July 13. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Durbin, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said numbers for both the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police are on track. Equipment is flowing to the entities, and efforts are in place to "professionalize" both forces, the general...