Eurasia

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said on Friday (March 13th) that NATO should accept as members all countries from the Western Balkans.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, yesterday called the country’s economic crisis a “test of maturity” for its businessmen. He urged them to “make sacrifices” to save jobs. “People have been getting very rich in a very short time,” he said in an interview with the head of Russia’s state-owned Channel One …

GENEVA — Tens of thousands of Georgians who fled last year’s war with Russia in breakaway South Ossetia will probably not be able to go home unless a political solution to the conflict is found, a United Nations official said Friday. Walter Kaelin, the UN secretary-general’s representative on the human …

TBILISI, Georgia — President Mikheil Saakashvili said he would not prevent Russian companies, including power trader Inter RAO and gas producer Itera, from investing in Georgia, rejecting criticism that their control of utilities was a threat to security. “We’re not going to hinder Russian companies from coming to Georgia,” Saakashvili …

Bulgaria marks Sunday the annual World Consumer Rights Day, as a sign of celebration and solidarity with the international consumer movement. World Consumer Rights Day was first observed on 15 March 1983, and has since become an important occasion for mobilizing citizen action. World Consumer Rights Day has its origins …

The leaders of Bulgaria’s right-wing parties arrived in the Italian town of Cadenabbia Sunday to discuss Bulgaria’s future. The meeting, under the motto “Workshop of the Future,” is organized by the “Konrad Adenauer” Foundation. Cadenabbia is a milestone in the history of Bulgaria’s rightist parties. The small and picturesque Italian …

The Transliteration Act of official rules of writing Bulgarian names with the Latin alphabet became effective Sunday. Municipalities are mandated by the Act to change all signs that don’t comply with the rules and would face fines between BGN 500 and 1,200 if they fail do so. Businesses and non-governmental …

Sofia. The most important think in conditions of a crisis is to preserve what has been achieved. In that sense it is in high importance there to be a steady social horizon. This is the challenge of Europe as well, Bulgarian Minister of Labor and Social Policy Emiliya Maslarova said …

Thousands of police officers marched in the Bulgarian capital on Sunday to press the government raise their wages by 50 percent and provide better working conditions. The poorest European Union nation has seen a series of protests from farmers, students, green activities and steel workers, demanding measures against the global …

CROATIAN President Stipe Mesic has called off official visits to Australia, New Zealand and Brazil this spring due to the economic crisis hitting the country’s budget, his office said. “Due to the economic circumstances forcing us to make cuts in the public sector, the President of Croatia has decided to …