Balkans

The slander trial against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor ended on Sunday (May 27th) with a Libyan court dismissing the charges against the medics, who already face death sentences for allegedly infecting 426 Libyan children with the virus that causes AIDS.

ANKARA, Turkey — As expected, outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed a constitutional amendment Friday (May 25th) that would that would have allowed the president to be elected by the people instead of by Parliament.

BELGRADE, Serbia — The government endorsed an initiative Friday (May 25th) to open new negotiations on Kosovo’s future status and forwarded it to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Belgrade is proposing new talks since the previous ones, which took place from February 2006 to March 2007, failed to result in a …

FOCA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) — Bosnian Serb convict Radovan Stankovic, sentenced to 20 years for war crimes, escaped from custody in the eastern Bosnian town of Foca on Friday (May 25th).

Aflat la cel de-al 14-lea summit al ÅŸefilor de stat din centrul Europei, care s-a desfăşurat la Brno, preÅŸedintele Traian Băsescu a cerut solidarizarea statelor europene pentru limitarea ambiÅ£iilor monopoliste în ceea ce priveÅŸte alimentarea cu energie. ÃŽn plus, preÅŸedintele Băsescu a pledat pentru ca Republica Moldova să intre în …

Radovan Stankovic, a convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal escaped from jail in eastern Bosnian town of Foca on Friday. Stankovic was sentenced in November 2006 to 16 years in prison for his part in the war crimes committed against the Bosnian Muslims between 1992-95 by Christian Serbian invaders and terrorists’ …

BUCHAREST, Romania — President Traian Basescu invited all parties in Parliament and groups representing minorities to begin discussing issues of national interest on Thursday (May 24th). He said a meeting will be held on Monday to discuss changing elections-related legislation and introducing a majority voting system, amending the constitution and …

BRUSSELS, Belgium — EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn met with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha in Brussels on Thursday (May 24th) and said that the various political parties must find a presidential candidate all can support, while working together on electoral reform. Berisha agreed, saying, “It is possible to choose …

ANKARA, Turkey — Speaking to reporters Thursday (May 24th), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed government support for the military if it decides to launch a cross-border operation against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Erdogan said he is confident that Parliament would back it as well, …

Albanian bloggers are divided over the state of affairs in Albania. Many claim that the campaign for the return of the diaspora is not doing much, while others think corruption is a real obstacle to investment and the return of Albanian emigrants. Clearly, the mixed reviews show a country in …