ANKARA, Turkey — Following a veto by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the constitutional amendment to hold direct presidential elections was approved by Parliament again Monday (May 28th), after hours of debate. As required, a second round of voting will be held on Thursday. If adopted, Sezer must either approve the …

BELGRADE, Serbia — The trial of a group dubbed “the road mafia gang” opened at the Belgrade special court for organised crime on Monday (May 28th). The case involves 53 former officials, including top management of the state company Serbia Roads, who allegedly electronically diverted road tolls. Damages are estimated …

BUCHAREST, Romania — Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu said on Monday (May 28th) that he would submit to the government draft changes to the recently adopted law establishing the National Integrity Agency (ANI), aimed at bringing more cases under ANI’s supervision. The law, passed by Parliament earlier this month, envisions ANI …

Russia, the EU and the United States have reached a compromise that could help remove a key obstacle to determining Kosovo’s final status, according to a report in a major Croatian daily on Monday (May 28th).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent an envoy to Ankara at the weekend to try to calm tensions over his opposition to Turkish membership in the EU, the newspaper Le Figaro reported on Tuesday (May 29th). The paper also said Sarkozy would not prevent the EU from opening three new policy …

In an unprecedented milestone for Romanian cinema, Cristian Mungiu has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His movie “Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days” beat out 21 other feature films, directed by such luminaries as the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Emir Kusturica.

BEIRUT — “Gone fishing” says the notice on the door of a club in a usually bustling Beirut bar district which has been deserted since bomb attacks last week.

TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran’s judiciary confirmed on Tuesday the detention of an Iranian-American social scientist on charges of spying, one of a number that US officials and think tanks had reported held.

WASHINGTON — Confronted with strong opposition to his Iraq policies, President George W. Bush decides to interpret public opinion his own way. Actually, he says, people agree with him.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President George W. Bush imposed new US sanctions on Sudan on Tuesday and sought support for an international arms embargo out of frustration at Sudan’s refusal to end what he called a genocide in Darfur.