Eurasia

RUSSIA Russian PM Vladimir Putin has promised relatives of victims of an explosion at a Russian hydro-electric power plant 1m roubles ($30,000) each in compensation. The death toll from Monday’s blast at the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant in Siberia now stands at 47, with 28 people missing and assumed dead. Mr Putin …

RUSSIA Early reports of a series of explosions in the capital of Chechnya say at least five people have been killed, policemen among them, according to a Russian agency source. Bystanders near a shop in Grozny said it was the work of suicide bombers, one of them on a bicycle. …

RUSSIA Chechen fighters said in a letter posted on a rebel website that they had used an anti-tank grenade to cause a disaster at a massive dam in Siberia this week presumed to have killed over 70 people. “Glory to Allah, on August 17 through our efforts, a subversive operation …

MACEDONIA Macedonia remains committed to the Athens-Skopje name talks, the country’s negotiator, Zoran Jolevski, said after his Thursday meeting with UN mediator Matthew Nimetz. In their meeting, Jolevski presented Macedonia’s positions on a set of ideas to resolve the dispute tabled by Nimetz in July. Greece presented its responses earlier …

BiH After months of political quarrels and disputes, Bosnia’s new top EU negotiator will be appointed on Friday, Bosnian Premier Nikola Spiric said. The appointment, if it indeed takes place, is only expected to further deepen political and ethnic divisions within Bosnia’s state government, the Council of Ministers, over the …

SERBIA Serbian President Boris Tadic and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao have agreed in Beijing to establish a strategic partnership between the two countries, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. “To further promote bilateral relations […] the two sides have decided to establish a strategic partnership,” a statement issued by the …

KOSOVO The European Commission liaison office in Kosovo, ECLO, has contributed €5 million to Kosovo’s debt repayments to the World Bank, the ECLO website reports.  The debt was accumulated prior to June 10, 1999, and was assumed by the Kosovo government when it became a member of the World Bank …

BiH The first elements of a US Armed Forces’ contingent have started arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina for NATO’s Joint Endeavor 2009 military exercise. “Joint Endeavor 2009 is a test for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Republika Srpska Television opined on Friday. This is the first time this annual NATO exercise is …

SARAJEVO, BiH Agencija za državnu službu BiH imenovat će danas Lidiju Topić za direktora Direkcije za evropske integracije BiH (DEI), rekao je juče Nikola Špirić, predsjedavajući Vijeća ministara BiH. Objasnio je da na jučerašnjoj sjednici Vijeća ministara nije postignuta saglasnost o imenovanju direktora DEI, Uprave za indirektno oporezivanje BiH (UIO) …

CHISINAU, Moldova The Alliance for European Integration intends to propose to the Communists to begin a dialogue on electing the new President of Moldova. On Thursday, Moldova Noastra Alliance Leader Serafim Urechean said after the fourth round of talks between the leaders of the ruling coalition that the dialogue will …