Eurasia

MOSCOW – The first film about last August’s war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia is to be broadcast on Russian television at primetime on Sunday. The made-for-TV movie, directed by Igor Voloshin, is called “Olympus Inferno” and tells the story of a Michael, a young Russian-American entomologist who …

Sofia is in talks with Moscow for securing temporary financing for the planned EUR 4.0 B nuclear power plant at Belene, for which Bulgaria contracted Russia’s Atomstroyexport. The statement was made by Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio and confirmed earlier reports. Speaking …

Bulgarian and the United States mark Tuesday the fiftieth anniversary of unbroken diplomatic relations. Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the US were established back in 1901 with an exchange of legacies. On September 19, 1903, the accreditation letters of the first American diplomat, John Jackson, were accepted. For the first …

The Bulgarian government has asked EU member states to send “experienced” diplomats to hold “key positions” in the administration in order to help boost reforms in the country. But the unusual proposal has been rebuffed by European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who said the Bulgarians should carry out the …

Representatives from the EU, US, Russia among others are meeting in Sarajevo where they are expected to debate the international community’s future role in Bosnia and confirm the country’s new top international envoy. “The main focus of my mandate will be aimed at fulfillment of conditions for the closure of …

Lithuania will reduce the number of troops it has in Kosovo because of the improved security situation, the country’s Defence Ministry Spokesman Danguole Bickauskiene said on Tuesday. Speaking to French news agency Agence France Presse, AFP, Bickauskiene noted that the withdrawal of troops from Kosovo is affected by the economic …

The European Commission is seeking an explanation from Paris over French car-making giant Renault’s decision to recall some of its production from Slovenia to France. “The commission will ask the French authorities for explanations,” said the Commission spokesman on competition issues Jonathan Todd. French Secretary of State for Industry Luc …

Medvedev will be the first Russian president to make his full property declaration public. President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday promised to fully declare his family’s income and property holdings as part of his latest anti-corruption drive, a Kremlin spokeswoman said. Medvedev, who made fighting graft a campaign pledge when running …

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the plan `unprofessional` and threatened to review ties if the EU continued to ignore Russian concerns. Europe on Monday welcomed a Ukrainian “master plan” to modernise the infrastructure carrying Russian gas to the west but Moscow warned that European Union energy security was at risk …

Police across Turkey have arrested dozens of suspects in the Ergenekon probe over the past year. A Turkish colonel was arrested on Monday in connection with an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings a decade ago in the mainly Kurdish southeast, Turkish media said. Authorities this month began excavating suspected mass …