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NATO Member Türkiye to Send Troops to Kosovo amid Unrest in the North

A US member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stands guard in an armored vehicle outside municipal offices in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo
A US member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stands guard in an armored vehicle outside municipal offices in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo
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NATO Member Türkiye to Send Troops to Kosovo amid Unrest in the North

A US member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stands guard in an armored vehicle outside municipal offices in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo
A US member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stands guard in an armored vehicle outside municipal offices in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo

Türkiye plans to send commandos to Kosovo on Sunday and Monday in response to a NATO request to join the alliance's KFOR peacekeeping force following unrest in the north of the country, the Turkish defense ministry said.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry called for restraint and constructive dialogue to resolve a crisis that it said could harm regional security and stability.

"Our assigned unit (a commando battalion) is planned to be deployed to ... Kosovo on June 4-5," the ministry said.

A political crisis that has spiraled into violence in Kosovo's north has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in the region's Serb-majority area, which led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina. The majority Serb population had boycotted the April election, allowing ethnic Albanians to be elected.

In violence on Monday, 30 peacekeepers and 52 Serbs who protested against the installation of the mayors were injured. The violence prompted NATO to announce it would send additional troops on top of 700 already on their way to the Balkan country to boost its 4,000 strong mission.

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Indian State Funeral for Former PM Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh's coffin before the start of the national funeral ceremony in New Delhi (AFP).
Manmohan Singh's coffin before the start of the national funeral ceremony in New Delhi (AFP).
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Indian State Funeral for Former PM Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh's coffin before the start of the national funeral ceremony in New Delhi (AFP).
Manmohan Singh's coffin before the start of the national funeral ceremony in New Delhi (AFP).

Mourners in India's capital gathered Saturday to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country's economic liberalization.
Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 on Thursday, after which seven days of state mourning were declared.
His coffin, draped in garlands of flowers, was flanked by a guard of honor and carried to his Congress Party headquarters in New Delhi, AFP said.
It will later be taken through the capital to be cremated, accompanied by guards of soldiers and accorded full state honors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who along with other leaders is expected to attend the funeral, called Singh one of India's "most distinguished leaders".
Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he had lost "a mentor and guide", adding that Singh had "led India with immense wisdom and integrity".
US President Joe Biden called Singh a "true statesman", saying that he "charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations -- and the world -- for generations to come".
The former prime minister was an understated technocrat who was hailed for overseeing an economic boom in his first term.
Singh's second stint ended with a series of major corruption scandals, slowing growth and high inflation.
Singh's unpopularity in his second term, and lackluster leadership by Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, the current opposition leader in the lower house, led to Modi's first landslide victory in 2014.
'Service to the nation'
Born in 1932 in the mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan and was then British-ruled India, Singh studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast nation.
He won scholarships to attend both Cambridge, where he obtained a first in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his doctorate.
Singh worked in a string of senior civil service posts, served as a central bank governor and also held various jobs with global agencies including the United Nations.
He was tapped in 1991 by then Congress prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to serve as finance minister and reel India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history.
Though he had never held an elected post, he was declared the National Congress's candidate for the highest office in 2004.
In his first term, Singh steered the economy through a period of nine percent growth, lending India the international clout it had long sought.
He also sealed a landmark nuclear deal with the United States that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.
President Droupadi Murmu said that Singh would "always be remembered for his service to the nation, his unblemished political life and his utmost humility".