Eurasia

Albania PM Accuses World Bank of Corruption

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha renewed his attacks on a World Bank inspection panel on Wednesday, after its Board of Executive Directors acknowledged that a project meant to safeguard Albania’s coastal zones was used to selectively demolish parts of a village in southern Albania and leave many families homeless. Berisha …

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Athens, Skopje Media War “Goes Mental”

The case of a Macedonian mental patient who says he is a Serb ‘working for Slav-Hellenic friendship’ has sparked a propaganda war between Macedonia and Greece, reaching even diplomats and European Union officials in Brussels. Vasko Gligorov was put in a mental hospital by his family last month for observation …

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Kosovo’s Haradinaj to Mediate Uganda Talks

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, will likely be the mediator for peace talks in Uganda between the government in Kampala and the Muslim Allied Democratic Forces rebels. The Allied Democratic Forces, ADF, told the AFP that they chose Haradinaj as their …

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Russia Abolishes Visas For Serbs

Russia and Serbia will sign on Friday in Moscow an agreement that will enable citizens of both countries to travel without visas. The Serbian government decided to cancel the mandatory visas for Russians last March. Authorities in Moscow approved the free-visa regime between the two countries last week, a sign …

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Three Serbs Beaten during Kosovo Celebrations

Three young Serbs were beaten up by a group of Albanians in the town of Lipljan in central Kosovo late on Tuesday, Belgrade media reported. They were hospitalised with light injuries, with one suffering a broken arm, Beta agency reported. They told police that the attackers waited in ambush around …

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Croatia Accession Likely In ’09, Or ’10- EU

Croatia has made major progress in its EU membership talks which could enter their final stage this year, a European Commission official said in Brussels on Tuesday, not ruling out that some work might remain for 2010. If Croatia does everything it is expected to do, there is a possibility …

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Macedonia Presidential Candidates Trade Barbs

Macedonia’s election commission on Wednesday determined the order of presidential candidates on the March 22 ballot by drawing lots, while the candidates were already engaging in a harsh battle of words. New Democracy candidate Imer Selmani heads the list, followed by Miruse Hoxha from the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, …

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Montenegro Soon To Have Relations With Kosovo

A Montenegro government document on the country’s efforts on its path to join NATO shows Montenegro is about to establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo, Podgorica-based daily Vijesti reported on Wednesday. Montenegro recognised Serbia’s former southern province as an independent country last October, leading to a chill in relations with Belgrade, …

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Croatia’s Mesic Wants Economic Crisis Meeting

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic will soon formalise his request for a special government session dedicated to the global economic crisis that is affecting Croatia, he said in an interview for Nova TV on Tuesday evening Asked to comment on Prime Minister Ivo Sanader’s statement that there was no need to …

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Serbia To Discuss Kosovo With UN’s Ban

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, exactly a year after Kosovo seceded from Serbia, to speak about Kosovo and to inform him of Belgrade’s expectation that the six-point plan will be implemented in full as approved by the Security Council.. Serbian Foreign …

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