Eurasia

Judge Viorel Andreies was elected the new president of a key body guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary in Romania, the Superior Council of Magistracy, CSM. The European Union, which Romania joined in January 2007, has urged Bucharest to continue reforms in the justice system – plagued by delays in …

Matthew Nimetz, the UN mediator in the long running Athens-Skopje name row, plans to hold a meeting between the two sides before the end of January, Greek daily Kathimerini said on Thursday citing unnamed diplomats from Athens. The dispute dates from the early 1990s, after Macedonia broke away from socialist …

Two cars were burnt in the latest inter-ethnic clash in Kosovo’s ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo police says. The violence between Kosovo Serbs who dominate the northern part of the town and Kosovo Albanians who dominate the south started around 19:30 hours CET on Tuesday night. The row started …

Kosovo Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi has asked Turkish authorities to help the newly independent country get recognised by Islamic countries. Most of Kosovo’s 90 percent Albanian majority are secular Muslims. During his visit in Ankara, Krasniqi met with his Turkish counterpart Koksal Toptan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. …

Singapore – Oil rebounded above $42 on Friday amid signs Saudi Arabia would deepen supply cuts next month, after sinking 2 percent overnight on signs of worsening demand from the United States, the world’s top energy consumer. US crude for February delivery rose 85 cents to $42.55 a barrel by …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict. Israeli warplanes dropped bombs on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, residents said. Elsewhere, Palestinian medics said tanks shelled …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistani police have arrested four foreigners near Pakistan’s border with Iran on suspicion of links with international terrorists, sources said on Wednesday. According to the sources, Panjgur Police believed the four men were members of Al Qaeda who entered Pakistan via Afghanistan and were planning to go to …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The historic and brotherly ties between Iran and Pakistan will strengthen with the passage of time, a Pakistani official said. According to a handout on Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Consul General Saied Kharazi at Chief Minister’s …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s special envoy and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary, Saeed Jalili, arrived in Ankara yesterday to hold official talks. Jalili attended a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was later received by President Abdullah Gul. According to media reports, Jalili …

Serbian President Boris Tadic has sent a letter of protest to the United Nations and European Union asking them to protect the Serb population in Kosovo from what he said were deliberate attacks by “the Kosovo government and Albanian extremists”. Two Kosovo Serbs were attacked by a group of Albanians …