Eurasia

The Bulgarian government will allocate an additional 190 million euro to training and job creation in an attempt to offset the effects the economic slowdown is having on the labour market, Social Minister Emilia Maslarova said. The new funds, under the Human Resources Operational Programme will be aimed at improving …

`When we collect enough evidence about concrete people, we will raise charges,` said Sofia City Prosecutor Nikolai Kokinov. Bulgaria’s national security agency and prosecutors raided the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday and seized documents in an investigation into large-scale illegal land deals. The raid was part of Bulgaria’s drive to assure …

Dmitry Medvedev, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and separatist leader Igor Smirnov signed a joint declaration after talks. Russia’s peacekeeping force in Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region may be replaced by an international mission after a political solution to the crisis is found, Russia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. It said Russian …

Turkey has some 12-14 million Kurds out of a total population of 70 million, but public use of the Kurdish language is still banned. Islam’s holy book the Koran is to be translated into Kurdish as part of Turkey’s efforts to boost the rights of Kurds and to meet European …

A tiny sliver of land on the Dniester river, Transdniestria declared its independence from Moldova in September 1990. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on Wednesday brokering peace talks between the Moldovan president and the leader of the ex-Soviet state’s separatist Transdniestria region. For a story on the talks, click on. …

Smirnov and Voronin met in Moldova last year for the first time in seven years. Moldova, its breakaway Transdniestria region and Russia agreed after talks on Wednesday that an international mission may replace Moscow’s peacekeepers in the conflict zone once a peace deal is concluded. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invited …

Members of the leftist PAME group waved red flags and chanted slogans on their way to parliament. More than 1,000 leftist unionists marched through Athens on Tuesday to demand protection of workers’ rights as the global crisis hits Greece. Members of the leftist PAME group waved red flags and chanted …

Still reeling from the worst riots in decades following the police killing of a 15-year-old, Britain is being asked for help. British police will help Greek authorities investigate a wave of violent attacks against banks and businesses, on the rise since riots shook the government in December, officials said on …

Sergeant Alexander Glukhov disappeared in January from his unit in breakaway South Ossetia and said he wanted asylum in Georgia. A Russian soldier who upset Moscow by leaving his unit and turning up in Georgia has been charged with desertion, Russian prosecutors said on Tuesday, while Tbilisi said it had …

Olli Rehn said prospects to join the bloc helped to anchor political stability and economic reform in the Western Balkans. The European Union should not freeze plans to admit Western Balkan countries as members, the bloc’s enlargement chief said on Tuesday, responding to German doubts about the pace of expansion. …