Balkans

US Human Rights Report Criticises Romania

The US Department of State has criticised Romania in its annual human rights report, for ‘problems in several areas’ including government corruption, prison and detention center conditions and some restrictions on the freedom of the press, Newsin news agency reports. The report concludes that the Romanian government generally respected the …

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Bosnia Invalids Protest In Sarajevo Parliament

Dozens of physically handicaped and disabled people on wheelchairs and crutches broke into the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat Federation parliament in Sarajevo on Tuesday, protesting against belt-tightening legislation that will cut down on their social payments. The protest underlined the worsening economic and social conditions plaguing Bosnia on the heels of …

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World Bank: Albania Govt. Demolished Village

The World Bank chief of mission in Albania, Camille Nuamah, on Wednesday presented the bank’s report on the controversial demolition of a village in southern Albania, blaming the government in Tirana as well as the project coordinator, the son-in-law of Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. According to the management report, …

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Russia To Delay Serbia Pipeline-Report

Russia’s Gazprom and Serbia’s gas company Srbijagas have decided to postpone “for some time” the signing of an agreement on a joint venture for building the South Stream gas pipeline, previously due to start in early March. Politika daily quoted sources close to Gazprom as saying the reason was that …

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Romania Likely To Seek New Loans

Romania’s Finance Minister says Romani will probably soon start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund or the European Union for a grant aimed at protecting its slowing economy from the global financial crisis. “It is better to avoid a crisis, than to face it. And no loan is too expensive …

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Standard & Poor’s: Bulgaria among Eastern Europe States Vulnerable to Crisis

he economies of Bulgaria and Romania are much more vulnerable to the effects of the global financial crisis compared to those of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. This becomes clear from a report of the financial analysis agency, Standard & Poor’s, cited by the Financial Times. Standard & Poor’s …

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Mladic Liked Beach Holidays, Was Stingy – Reports

Serbia’s secret services are discovering more details about top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic every day, with the latest information suggesting he spent a two-week holiday on the Montenegrin coast in 1997 but was stingy and ungracious with his guards and staff. With Mladic’s arrest a condition for Serbia’s European …

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EU May Unblock Serbia Deal In March- Asselborn

The European Union will probably in March unfreeze a trade agreement with Serbia and ratify the pre-accession Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Luxemburg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said on Wednesday in an interview. Serbia signed the SAA in April 2008, but there has been no consensus in the EU on its …

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Kosovo’s Haradinaj: Ready To Mediate in Uganda

Kosovo’s former Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said he was willing to be the mediator for peace talks in Uganda between the government in Kampala and the Muslim Allied Democratic Forces rebels. The Allied Democratic Forces, ADF, said they wanted Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army acquitted last …

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Kosovo’s Sejdiu Awarded US Leadership Prize

During a visit to the University of Arizona, Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu was given its award for “Distinguished Global Leadership” for people who promote international and intercultural cooperation. In his speech, Sejdiu thanked the United States for its “eternal support” toward Kosovo and took care to thank separately all US …

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