Eurasia

BUCHAREST, Romania An earthquake registering 4.4 on the Richter scale shook the region of Vrancea in eastern Romania late on Friday (July 24th). It was also felt in Bucharest.Meanwhile, several minor earthquakes, with a magnitude of about 4.0 were registered in Macedonia’s region of Valandovo on Friday and Saturday.

TIRANA, Albania Authorities have decided to remove concrete bunkers that were built during the Cold War to defend the country from an attack that never happened, Sotir Zarka, mayor of the coastal municipality of Seman, said on Friday (July 24th). The bunkers have caused five deaths, including two children, and …

SARAJEVO Evropska unija želi u 2010. godini preporučiti ukidanje viza za građane BiH ukoliko u narednim mjesecima vlasti BiH ispune preostale uslove, naglasio je Oli Ren, evropski komesar za proširenje, u pisanom obraćanju parlamentu BiH. Evropski komesar jučer se trebao obratiti parlamentu BiH, ali ga je u tome spriječila bolest.

BUCHAREST Romania received the first part worth EUR1.5 billion of the loan from the European Commission. Romanian authorities signed an agreement for supporting a program with funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

BELGRADE Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić says it is possible that an interim trade agreement with the EU could be unblocked by the beginning of 2010. He said Serbia could also submit her EU candidature.The trade deal is part of the SAA – signed in April 2008 and immediately suspended pending …

BELGRADE Egypt support’s Serbia’s bid to host the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) 2011 summit. The summit will be held on the 50th anniversary since the movement was founded.Egyptian Ambassador to Belgrade Aly Galal Bassiouny said on Saturday that his country welcomes Serbia’s bid and wishes the country success in organizing the …

BRUSSELS, Belgium Croatia’s new Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor met with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday (July 23rd), her first trip abroad since her election earlier this month. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Jerzy Busek reiterated that Croatia and Slovenia must resolve their longstanding maritime …

SKOPJE, Macedonia EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn visited Skopje on Thursday (July 23rd) to discuss the country’s accession bid. He noted Macedonia has two months to meet remaining benchmarks before the next European Commission (EC) progress report is drafted. Based on that document, due in October, Macedonia could receive an …

HE HAGUE, The Netherlands The UN war crimes tribunal has turned down a request for the temporary release of former Macedonian security official Johan Tarculovski, who asked to visit his family, media reported on Thursday (July 23rd). Along with his request, Tarculovski submitted guarantees from the Macedonian government that he …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Judges at the UN war crimes tribunal asked prosecutors handling the case against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to reduce the number of charges against him, in order to accelerate proceedings, Dutch media reported on Thursday (July 23rd). Currently, there are 11 charges of genocide, …