Slovaks are voting Saturday in a presidential run-off election between the popular incumbent and a strong opposition challenger. President Ivan Gasparovic won nearly 47 percent of vote in the first round of elections last month. He now faces the top opposition candidate, sociologist and former social affairs minister Iveta Radicova, …

President Barack Obama hailed “strong and unanimous support” from NATO allies on Saturday for his stepped-up anti-terror strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and welcomed their “down payment” promises of 5,000 fresh forces. The allies rebuffed U.S. appeals for more combat forces to join the war, but the backing Obama did …

European leaders enthusiastically praised President Barack Obama‘s new Afghan strategy at a NATO summit Saturday but held their ground on a central disagreement and offered only military trainers and extra security forces for upcoming elections. Violent anti-war protests that marred the alliance’s 60th anniversary celebrations were a stark reminder that …

President Barack Obama on Friday will present his new strategy for Afghanistan to NATO allies who are increasingly reluctant to commit more ground troops to the escalating war effort. The military alliance‘s annual summit this year coincides with NATO’s 60th anniversary. While NATO leaders have emphasized that the meeting Friday …

A joint team of Afghan and U.S. coalition forces battled a large group of suspected Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province before calling in an air strike that killed 20 insurgents, the coalition said in a statement Thursday. The coalition said dozens of insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and …

Slovenia will not change its view ad maintains that the outstanding border dispute has to be solved in order for Croatia`s European Union accession talks to be deblocked, said Slovene Prime Minister Borut Pahor on Thursday, commenting the situation as the meeting of Croatian Foreign Affairs Minister Gordan Jandrokovic, his …

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told the Austrian Ö1 Radio that Croatia has offered an agreement on accessing the open sea to Slovenia, which Ljubljana has been demanding from the start, Slovene Dnevnik reports. Mesic explained that he meant the option of Slovene ships passing through Croatian territorial waters to the …

Supplies of Russian natural gas to southeastern Europe are under control following a pipeline explosion this week, European Union gas experts said on Thursday. The blast on a 30-year-old pipeline in a separatist region of ex-Soviet Moldova caused a drop in deliveries on Wednesday. “After hearing reports of the countries …

Serbian unions said on Thursday they would stage mass protests within two weeks unless government officials take their share of spending cuts agreed last week to secure an IMF loan. Serbia plans to freeze wages and pensions for 18 months and impose a 6 percent income tax surcharge to achieve …

`I am pleased to announce that from February 1, payment for gas has been proceeding in timely fashion,` Tymoshenko said to the press. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pledged on Thursday that Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz would make timely, full payment for gas shipments in March by Russian giant Gazprom. …