Balkans

UK To Cut Its EULEX Staff Numbers In Kosovo

The UK government has announced plans to reduce its staff in Kosovo’s EULEX mission as part of a cost-cutting drive resulting from the global financial crisis. “We have received some signals that the UK government is planning to reduce its staff under the law and order mission in Kosovo”, said …

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Investigation Into Trajkovski Death Still Ongoing

Macedonia on Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of the death of President Boris Trajkovski in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a case that is still open and under investigation. The lack of an official conclusion on the causes of the crash has over the years led many in …

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Macedonia ‘Generally Respects Human Rights’

The Macedonian government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in 2008, with certain problems noted in the rule of law, and inadequate judicial and police procedures with criminal detentions, says the US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices. One of the main problems noted is the …

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Pristina Airport Starts Privatization Consultations

Kosovo’s government met with consultants Naco Innova on Thursday to discuss plans to revamp and assist in the privatization of Pristina International Airport. Naco Innova, a Dutch-American aviation consulting company, won the tender on January 26 and was on their first official visit to Pristina, meeting with a special governmental …

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US Human Rights Report Criticises Romania

The US Department of State has criticised Romania in its annual human rights report, for ‘problems in several areas’ including government corruption, prison and detention center conditions and some restrictions on the freedom of the press, Newsin news agency reports. The report concludes that the Romanian government generally respected the …

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Bosnia Invalids Protest In Sarajevo Parliament

Dozens of physically handicaped and disabled people on wheelchairs and crutches broke into the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat Federation parliament in Sarajevo on Tuesday, protesting against belt-tightening legislation that will cut down on their social payments. The protest underlined the worsening economic and social conditions plaguing Bosnia on the heels of …

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World Bank: Albania Govt. Demolished Village

The World Bank chief of mission in Albania, Camille Nuamah, on Wednesday presented the bank’s report on the controversial demolition of a village in southern Albania, blaming the government in Tirana as well as the project coordinator, the son-in-law of Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. According to the management report, …

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Russia To Delay Serbia Pipeline-Report

Russia’s Gazprom and Serbia’s gas company Srbijagas have decided to postpone “for some time” the signing of an agreement on a joint venture for building the South Stream gas pipeline, previously due to start in early March. Politika daily quoted sources close to Gazprom as saying the reason was that …

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Romania Likely To Seek New Loans

Romania’s Finance Minister says Romani will probably soon start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund or the European Union for a grant aimed at protecting its slowing economy from the global financial crisis. “It is better to avoid a crisis, than to face it. And no loan is too expensive …

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Standard & Poor’s: Bulgaria among Eastern Europe States Vulnerable to Crisis

he economies of Bulgaria and Romania are much more vulnerable to the effects of the global financial crisis compared to those of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. This becomes clear from a report of the financial analysis agency, Standard & Poor’s, cited by the Financial Times. Standard & Poor’s …

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