Eurasia

Albania PM re-election confirmed

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s alliance has won enough seats to form a government, though it fell one seat short of a majority, officials say.The result means Mr Berisha’s centre-right alliance will be forced to govern with a small left-wing party. Election officials announced final results from the 28 June …

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Albania joins Council of Europe Eurimages

STRASBOURG The Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe Eurimages is pleased to welcome a new member state, Albania, as of 1st September 2009, the Council of Europe says in a press release. As a result, co-production projects involving a co-producer from Albania can be submitted to Eurimages for examination …

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Russia’s historic heritage threatened

Moscow city officials are employing the brutal methods of Soviet predecessors to develop a rash of buildings that are destroying the Russian capital’s historic heritage. Landmarks under threat include the Bolshoi Theatre, the Mayakovskaya metro station and monuments of the avant-garde, according to a new a survey by the Moscow …

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Georgia more modest now, a year after war

TBILISI It would be a stretch to say Mikheil Saakashvili has been humbled. But almost a year after Georgia’s war with Russia, the flamboyant president, like his country, cuts a more modest figure. The five-day war dashed the former Soviet republic’s hopes of taking back control of the rebel regions …

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Bulgaria PM vows to step up battle over graft

Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria’s new prime minister, yesterday pledged to mend fences with the rest of the European Union by stepping up the fight against corruption. The European Commission last week criticised the outgoing government for failing to curb high-level corruption. It has been critical of the failure to bring to …

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Serbia’s Jeremic optimistic about interim trade deal

BELGRADE, Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Saturday (July 25th) he is optimistic that Serbia’s interim trade agreement with the EU — as part of the broader pre-membership agreement — would be unblocked by the beginning of 2010. In an interview with the newspaper Danas, Jeremic said talks on …

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Colak says BiH will not extradite its citizens

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Justice Minister Barisa Colak says BiH will not extradite its citizens to other countries, regardless of the type of the arrest warrant involved, local media reported on Sunday (July 26th). He was responding to his Serbian counterpart Snezana Malovic, who visited Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon …

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Albanian Election Commission poised to issue results

TIRANA, Albania The Central Election Commission (CEC) is ready to deliver the final results of the June 28th general elections, having reviewed all complaints from political parties through the Election Council, local media reported on Sunday (July 26th). But various parties still have another week to file complaints related to …

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EC allocates funds for Kosovo municipalities

PRISTINA, Kosovo Ten municipalities will benefit from a grant of 340,000 euros each provided by the European Commission (EC), which they will use to strengthen local governance. “Public administration reform and local governance reform play a key role in Kosovo’s future,” EC official Kjartan Bjornsson said on Friday (July 24th). …

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Macedonia remembers victims of devastating earthquake

SKOPJE, Macedonia The country paid tribute Sunday (July 26th) to the victims of a devastating earthquake that struck Skopje 46 years ago, killing more than 1,000 people. Official delegations laid flowers in front of a monument to the victims at the cemetery in the capital. The quake, which registered 6.9 …

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