ANKARA, Turkey – Romania and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul on Friday (April 3rd) regarding Romania’s participation in the Black Sea naval operation Harmony. The two countries will take part in the exercises, along with Ukraine and Russia. Black Sea Harmony is an initiative launched by Turkey …

ZAGREB, Croatia – Police announced on Saturday (April 4th) that they have busted a group that trafficked people from Asia, the Middle East and the former Yugoslav republics to EU countries. The investigation was a joint one involving the police services of Slovenia, Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At a …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – The Hague war crimes tribunal on Friday (April 3rd) rejected a request by lawyers representing Croatian generals Ante Govotina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac to drop charges stemming from 1995’s Operation Storm.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – Central Bank Governor Kemal Kozaric says that since BiH has a 200m-euro quota in the IMF, the country can request up to 1 billion euros an assistance. Speaking on Friday (April 3rd), he acknowledged that BiH will slip into recession this year, since the …

NICOSIA, Cyprus – UN Special Representative in Cyprus Taye Brook Zerihoun said on Friday (April 3rd) that concrete efforts should be made to establish a mine-free buffer zone by 2011.

NATO leaders have agreed to re-start direct talks with Russia, while simultaneously condemning the country’s military build-up in Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. “Despite our current disagreements, Russia is of particular importance to us as a partner and neighbour,” NATO heads of state and government said in …

The Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) will construct 100 residential units for Georgians displaced by the country’s most recent war. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony near the Georgian city of Gori on Saturday, TİKA head Musa Kulaklıkaya said that the construction of the units will be completed soon and …

US President Barack Obama is in Prague Sunday to meet the EU leaders. Obama and First Lady, Michelle, arrived in Prague at 6:15 pm Saturday evening, but did not have any formal meetings. The couple took the evening off to rest after the exhausting schedule in London, Kehl and Strasbourg. …

The EC postponed until the end of May the eventual unblocking of the European ISPA program funds. The information was reported Sunday by the Bulgarian news agency BGNES citing the Bulgarian National television (BNT). According to the European Commission’s (EC) notification, Bulgaria only very recently presented to Brussels the requested …

Bulgaria’s PM, Sergey Stanishev, had a brief exchange Sunday with the US President Barack Obama. Stanishev attended the meeting between the US President and the leaders of the European Union (EU) Member States in Prague. Stanishev said in an interview for Darik radio that he had the opportunity to speak …