Balkans

The son of a right-wing politician has been arrested on suspicions of killing a 21 year old woman in the Black Sea town of Varna. Georgi Tsvetanov is the only suspect for the murder of Radostina Evtimova, whose mutilated body was found with numerous stab wounds at a flat in …

The second edition of the Macedonian pantomime and physical theatre festival Panphys opens today, bringing important artists from the region and the world to the capital Skopje. The festival, which will take place at the Macedonian National Theatre until March 14, opens tonight with Monologue with a Suitcase – a …

Economists in Kosovo say that there has not been adequate analysis on the impact of the global economic slowdown on the country, asking government and other relevant actors to undertake necessary measures to prepare for the crisis which will inevitably hit the newly independent state, they say. 

Romania’s President Traian Basescu addressing parliament on Monday asked “for solidarity and austerity” as he sought to prepare the public for possible International Monetary Fund, IMF, aid in a bid to shore up his country’s faltering economy. “The country will have to pay now for the lack of structural reforms …

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has invited Serbia’s President Boris Tadic to meet in Pristina to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two states. “You know that Belgrade wants handcuffs and keys for me every day,” he told media in the Serb-populated town of Cagllavica on Sunday, saying instead that he …

The Czech Republic has confirmed speculation that it will reduce the number of troops it has serving in Kosovo under NATO, while speculation over a possible reduction of German troops in the country continues. Speaking on Czech television, the Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova said that her country will reduce …

Serbia’s interior minister Ivica Dacic said that a controversial draft law against discrimination – whose adoption is a requirement for the country to get onto the European Union’s so-called “Schengen white list” – will be adopted by parliament by the end of April. He told a B92 TV talk show …

The opposition Monday blamed Macedonia’s Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski for misusing his office after he announced the start of several infrastructure projects amid the current presidential and local election campaign. The opposition Social Democrats accused the conservative VMRO DPMNE party prime minister for “misuse of budget money for party promotion” …

The Albanian government annulled €60 million worth of debts and unpaid bills of the state-owned electricity distribution company, OSSH, on Friday. The decision has been slammed by the opposition as “stupid” and corrupt, because it will decrease by more then 50 per cent the real price of OSSH, which is …

The average net salary in Romania rose 12.9 percent in the year to January, but declined slightly when compared to the month before, the National Statistics Board reported on Monday. January’s average salary was Lei 1,355 down by 0.9 percent from December, 2008.