Eurasia

SOFIA, Bulgaria Tsvetan Tsvetanov, chairman of the election-winning Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), will serve as interior minister, the party’s informal leader, Boyko Borisov, said on Wednesday (July 8th). Tsvetanov’s background is in law enforcement — he was an inspector for 17 years and an administrator for …

BELGRADE, Serbia Parliament on Wednesday (July 8th) approved a new law on regional development that will divide Serbia into seven statistical regions: Vojvodina, Belgrade, Western, Eastern, Central, Southern, and Kosovo and Metohija.

ANKARA, Turkey President Abdullah Gul approved a controversial new measure Wednesday (July 8th) that allows civilian courts to prosecute military officers for some crimes. Gul, however, demanded that some regulations be implemented that would “dispel worries” among the military.

TIRANA, Albania The Socialist Party (SP) wants a full count of ballot boxes from the region of Fieri before it recognises the official results from Sunday’s general elections, local media reported on Thursday (July 9th). Despite the SP’s claims that they won nine mandates in Fieri, preliminary results suggest they …

The transit of Russian gas to Armenia was resumed this morning upon completion of repair works in the Georgian territory, said the press office of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation. Georgian and Armenian specialists have carried out all essential technical work, it said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending $200 million in loans and grants to help Armenia, Georgia and Tajikistan sustain critical social spending programs that have been imperiled by the global economic crisis, the bank’s press office said.

Russia categorically denied on Thursday that its wide range air military maneuvers are targeting Georgia. The attempts by Georgian media and the West to portray such military training as preparation for war against Georgia is not rational, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters.

Cyprus objects to non-EU citizens in envoy office; EU set to change powers of special representative. Cyprus is obstructing plans by the EU to reinforce its presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina because it objects to the possible presence of non-EU citizens in the office of the EU Special Representative (EUSR). …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 1.57 billion dollar loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina that was stalled over the country’s failure to implement a series of economic measures. The loan, which is intended to mitigate the effects of the global economic crisis on the small nation, was negotiated …

Albanian economic growth this year will be minimal, owing to the effects of the global economic downturn, the Central Bank governor, Ardian Fullani, has said. Fullani said confidence in the Albanian banking sector had revived after the first aftershocks of the crises in global financial markets. However, the government needs …