MOSCOW – Russia’s new Angara carrier rocket will start test flights in 2011, the rocket’s developer said on Wednesday. The Angara, designed to place heavy payloads into orbit, is currently under development at the Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center. “The work is going according to schedule. A light-class …

Georgian Minister of Agriculture Bakur Kvezereli said Wednesday the most affordable agricultural land in the region is actually in Georgia. “One hectare (10,000 square metres) of agricultural land sells for 350-1000 USD in Georgia. We expect Turkish entrepreneurs to purchase land in Georgia,” Kvezereli said.

UNITED NATIONS – Georgia’s new permanent representative to the United Nations, Alexander Lomaya, has presented his credentials to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Lomaya has been in New York since the beginning of February, but until Tuesday’s official ceremony did not have the right to vote in the UN as a …

BUCHAREST, Romania: Media freedom groups criticized Romanian government plans that would allow people to sue for libel on behalf of the dead. The groups said draft legislation would limit press freedoms amid a continuing struggle between journalists and authorities since Romania threw off communism 20 years ago. Some journalists have …

Sofia. The Bulgarian government and its board of international councellors, headed by former French premier Dominique de Villepin, said Wednesday they would call on EU experts to help the country fight corruption more effectively. “The proposal to reinforce cooperation with both the European Commission and with the member states by …

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has stated that he is not satisfied with the aid provided to Bulgaria within the framework of the EU energy package. Out of the total EU energy funding of EUR 3.5 B, Bulgaria is currently only entitled to EUR 10 M for the connection of its …

The Mayor of the village of Garmen, Ahmed Bashev and religion teacher, Murad Boshnak, are being investigated over death threats against the MP, Yane Yanev. The information was announced by the Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov, who denied any investigation of the Mayor and the teacher that was connected to …

Students from universities in Sofia will protest in front of the Bulgarian Parliament as a sign of solidarity with their colleagues from Varna who protested yesterday against the brutal murder of Radostina Evtimova. ‘We as students from Sofia we owe solidarity to our colleagues from Varna in a time of …

A parliamentary body in the Maldives, consisted of top officials, will investigate allegations that the government received a $2 million bribe to recognise Kosovo’s independence. The National Security Committee of the parliament will look to see if there is any truth these allegations, which were first raised by the opposition …

Five years after ethnic Albanians attacked Serb enclaves in Kosovo in what became the worst single attack against Kosovo’s Serbs since just after the 1999 war, Pristina’s government said the events would go down as ”one of the darkest episodes” of the country’s recent history. “The tragic events of March …