Germany's cabinet approves Patriot deployment in TurkeyDecember 6, 2012 - 11:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Germany's cabinet agreed on Thursday, Dec 6, to send Patriot missiles and soldiers to Turkey to defend it against a possible Syrian missile attack after NATO agreed to the request from Ankara, Reuters reported citing a cabinet source. NATO member Turkey has repeatedly scrambled jets along the countries' frontier and has responded in kind when shells from the Syrian conflict came down inside its borders, fuelling fears the civil war could spread. The Netherlands and the United States also plan to provide Patriot missile batteries. Deployment is expected to take several weeks. Germany needs to get approval from its Bundestag lower house, which is not expected to be a problem although some opposition lawmakers, mainly Greens, are against the deployment due to fears of getting caught up in a wider regional conflict. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has said he expects a broad parliamentary majority. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |