February, 2009

• 24 February

  Bulgaria Court Sentences Hacker To Jail Term

  A Bulgarian court has sentenced Issa Mehmed, nicknamed ‘The Hacker’, to four and a half years in prison for founding an organized crime group, money laundering, financial fraud and extortion, Croatian Javno news reported Tuesday. Mehmed and four members of his criminal gang were arrested on 20 January 2008 for …

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• 24 February

  Macedonia Mumps Epidemic Still Spreading

  After several weeks of an intensive emergency vaccination campaign the mumps epidemic in Macedonia has topped 3,600 patiens, but authorities expect the infection to eventually let up in the coming weeks. More than 35,000 people were vaccinated in the nation-wide action so far, the health ministry informs. The epidemic started …

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• 24 February

  Montenegro gives Serbia, Croatia submarines

  Montenegro will give each of its neighbours and former ex-Yugoslavs Serbia and Croatia a small submarine as a gift, said Montenegro’s army chief of staff, Dragan Samardzic. Slovenia already got one of the six small Tisa submarines, class Una, produced in the late 80’s for the Yugoslav Navy in Croatia’s …

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• 24 February

  Serbia Prefers Debt To State Firm Fire Sale

  Serbia would rather ask for more loans to make it through the financial crisis than sell its fixed telephony and electricity monopolies, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said on Tuesday. “It’s better for the state to go into debt that to sell Telekom,” Tanjug agency quoted Djelic as saying, adding …

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• 24 February

  Serbia Must Invest More, Spend Less – CBank

  Serbia needs a new deal with the International Monetary Fund, but with that money going ensure the macro-economic stability of the country and not to protect the dinar rate, Serbia’s central bank governor Radovan Jelasic said on Tuesday, adding that the state needs the deal also as an excuse for …

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• 24 February

  Skopje Ring Road Nears Completion

  One of Macedonia’s biggest infrastructure projects, the building of a ring road round the capital Skopje, is nearing completion after several delays, officials told local media on Monday. Last July the authorities opened to traffic the first stretch of the 26-kilometer long road, part of the long running efforts by …

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• 24 February

  Bulgaria In 2007 Gets $1.9 bln In Remittances

  Money sent home by Bulgarians living abroad boosted the Bulgarian economy with $1.9 billion in 2007, latest World Bank data showed, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio. After direct capital investments, remittances from migrant workers was the second most important source of external revenue for developing European economies, both …

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• 24 February

  Japan to pay 80,000 Afghanistan police salaries

  TOKYO – Japan will pay the salaries of Afghanistan’s 80,000 police officers for six months as part of its ongoing financial support for the country, a government official said Tuesday. Tokyo will also fund the building of 200 schools and 100 hospitals, and train thousands of teachers in Afghanistan, said …

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• 24 February

  In the north, Afghans fight hunger, not the Taliban

  SANG-I-KHEL, Afghanistan (Reuters) – The United States’ decision to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan will mean little to the people of northern Sang-i-Khel village whose fight is not against Taliban insurgents but against hunger. Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 additional U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan to tackle …

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• 23 February

  Romania doesn’t want suspects sent back from Italy

  BUCHAREST, Romania: Romania’s foreign minister says his country does not want citizens suspected of committing crimes in Italy to be repatriated. Cristian Diaconescu said Romania would accept the repatriation of Romanians who have been convicted of crimes, but not suspects. Anti-Romanian sentiment in Italy has escalated after recent attacks by …

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