Eurasia

Problems with Albania’s Electoral Roll Alarm Watchdog

A group of NGOs on Wednesday warned that Albania’s institutions are failing to notify voters of their presence on preliminary electoral rolls ahead of the June parliamentary elections.“The government is blatantly omitting its legal obligation to inform voters of their presence of the electoral lists and the voting booth where …

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Islamism and Bosniak Nationalism May Unite, Report

The latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, a think tank, entitled “Bosnia’s Dangerous Tango: Islam and Nationalism”, warns of the danger of a fusion between Bosniak nationalism and Islam. “Political Islam is a novelty in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and its rise is seen as threatening to secular parties …

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EU’s Sannino Presses Bosnia on Rights Ruling

The EU Enlargement Commissioner said Bosnia needs to meet its obligations under the EU road map, especially in connection with the Sejdic-Finci ruling. Stefano Sannino, European Commissioner for Enlargement, told Nermin Niksic, the Prime Minister of Bosnia’s Federation entity, that Brussels supports Bosnia’s further EU progress. The two officials discussed Bosnia’s …

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Bulgaria Confirms Decision to Scrap Belene Plant

Bulgaria’s parliament on Wednesday confirmed a decision to abandon the Belene nuclear power plant project.The vote in parliament was prompted by a recent referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power plant, which put the Belene project back on parliament’s agenda, as the voter turnout exceeded 20 per cent. …

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Flooding Wreaks Havoc in Parts of Macedonia

A man has died in the floods that have swept eastern and central Macedonia, cutting off villages and damaging farms and infrastructure.A 51-year-old man from the northeastern town of Kumanovo drowned on Tuesday, trying to cross a river that had overspilled, the authorities reported. Torrential rain for three days has …

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Serbs in Croatia’s Vukovar ‘Increasingly Insecure’

Serbs in the Croatian city are growing fearful amid threats of force to stop the official introduction of Cyrillic script and the Serbian language, a Belgrade official said.Serbs in Vukovar are feeling “growing insecurity”, the director of Serbia’s office for the diaspora, Slavka Draskovic, said during a visit to Zagreb …

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Montenegro and Bosnia ‘Close to Border Deal’

The Bosnian prime minister said there was only one disputed piece of territory to be demarcated before the ex-Yugoslav states sign a crucial border agreement. Vjekoslav Bevanda and Milo Djukanovic, the prime ministers of Bosnia and Montenegro , said a deal was close after they met on Tuesday in Podgorica. “There …

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Serbia and Kosovo Still Apart on North

As the EU-led dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is set to resume on March 4, the two sides have made some advances on Serb-run northern Kosovo while areas of disagreement remain. In a meeting on Tuesday with the Kosovo President, Atifete Jahjaga, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the two sides had …

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Romania’s Crowded Prisons Could Improve, Report

Jail conditions are far better in Romania than what they were – but overcrowding and poor diet remain a problem, a new report says. The number of inmates in Romania’s prisons has risen constantly in recent years and the government spends over 41 million euro a year in supporting them, according …

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Dodik To Form New Bosnian Serb Govt

Republika Srpska Prime Minister Aleksandar Dzomic and President Milorad Dodik on Monday agreed that the entity government will hand resignation on Wednesday, amid continuing economic woes and rising unemployment. Dodik will hold a government session on Wednesday where the name of a new prime minister will be announced, media reports …

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