Washington - The Illinois Senate on Monday began the impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last month for trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat.
Blagojevich, 52, was impeached by the state's House of Representatives earlier this month. The lower body of the Illinois state legislature voted overwhelmingly, by 114-1, to send the case to trial in the state Senate, where, if convicted, Blagojevich will be stripped of his power and removed from office.
Tehran - Tehran on Monday harshly condemned the European Union foreign ministers for removing the Iranian opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) from their list of terrorist organizations.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement that the EU has decided to make "friendship and cooperation with terrorists" who have been involved in several terrorist operations and killings of innocent people.
New York - The United Nations envoy for Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, will soon visit Myanmar to continue discussions on the democratic process in the Southeast Asian nation, a UN spokeswoman said Monday.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked Gambari to return to Myanmar and he has also received an invitation from the government in Yangon, according to spokeswoman Marie Okabe.
Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new American counterpart, Barack Obama, held what was described as a "warm" telephone discussion on Monday, Sarkozy's office said.
The conversation, which was held on Obama's initiative, consisted of "substantial exchanges" on a number of vital international topics, the Elysee Palace said in a statement to the press.
They included the global economic crisis, the crisis in the Middle East, Afghanistan and the upcoming NATO summit in Strasbourg, scheduled for early April.
Moscow - The deputy interior minister of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia was shot dead Monday in the regional capital Sukhumi, the Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh reported.
In a statement carried by the Interfax news agency, Bagapsh said the minister was in a cafe when he was shot in the head and chest by two masked assailants, who escaped on foot.
"This murder is aimed at destabilizing the situation in Abkhazia," Bagapsh said.
No information as to the motive behind the attack was available.
Cairo - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Cairo on Monday night for talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Solana's visit to the region is "part of the European Union's efforts to consolidate a lasting ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian relief for the victims in Gaza and re-launch the peace process," Solana's office said in a statement.
Washington - The Illinois Senate on Monday began the impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last month for trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat.
Tehran - Tehran on Monday harshly condemned the European Union foreign ministers for removing the Iranian opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) from their list of terrorist organizations.
New York - The United Nations envoy for Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, will soon visit Myanmar to continue discussions on the democratic process in the Southeast Asian nation, a UN spokeswoman said Monday.
Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new American counterpart, Barack Obama, held what was described as a "warm" telephone discussion on Monday, Sarkozy's office said.
Moscow - The deputy interior minister of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia was shot dead Monday in the regional capital Sukhumi, the Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh reported.
Cairo - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Cairo on Monday night for talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak scheduled for Tuesday morning.
