Eurasia

Armenia still rebuilding 20 years after earthquake

GYUMRI, Armenia (Reuters) – Zhora Azizyan felt lucky when he was granted temporary housing made of concrete blocks rather than the railway cars given to others after the earthquake that devastated northwestern Armenia. But that was 1988. Now he struggles to paper over the cracks in the walls, and the …

Read More »

Russian Orthodox Church head Alexiy II lies in state

Alexiy II has been laying in state at his residence near Moscow following his sudden death on Friday. Today, the late Patriarch of All Russia is expected to be taken through the capital to be lain in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour after 18 years as head of Russia’s …

Read More »

Iran Blasts Human Rights Abuse by France

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran expressed concern over human rights in France and the wave of Islamophobia in Europe. The remarks were made by Secretary of Human Rights Headquarters of Iran’s Judiciary Mohammad Javad Larijani in a meeting with French Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade in Paris on Wednesday. …

Read More »

EU Calls for Win-Win Solution to Iran N. Issue

TEHRAN (FNA)- EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear issue can be resolved only through “win-win negotiations”. In a Friday press conference in Brussels, Solana said the European Union would provide a win-win situation in the next round of talks with Iranian nuclear officials.

Read More »

Outcry at Bosnian Government’s Pay Rise

Sarajevo _ There are calls for new elections after leaders in Bosnia’s Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat dominated Federation entity, upped their salaries despite a looming economic crisis. Calls for a campaign of ‘civil disobedience’ are coming from Bosnian trade unions, non-governmental organisations and media. “They have completely lost any connection with …

Read More »

Balkan Police Ministers Debate Croat Attack

Sarajevo – Interior ministers from Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia meeting over the weekend have backed a need for greater cross-border cooperation following the murder of a Croatian journalist. The ministers were also unanimous that the recent assassination of Croatian journalist and publisher Ivo Pukanic had confirmed that mobsters in …

Read More »

EULEX December 2 Launch ‘Not Guaranteed’

Pristina – The EU has not decided on a definite date to launch its Kosovo law-and-order mission, EULEX, says the spokeswoman for the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. “(The previously stated launch date of) December 2 is not guaranteed,” Christina Gallach said, adding that “the date will be decided in …

Read More »

Parties Neck-and-Neck in Romania Election

Bucharest – The first results from Romania’s general election show the centre-right Democratic Party, PLD, and leftist Social Democratic Party, PSD, each neck-and-neck with 33 percent of the vote. Data from the Central Electoral Bureau, based on a count of around 71 percent of votes, also show Prime Minister Calin Popescu …

Read More »

‘Forget the UN Six-Point Plan’, says Kosovo PM

Pristina _ “Forget the six points, it is not applicable in Kosovo,” Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said during a tour of rural areas, saying the UN plan is against the will of Kosovo’s people. He added that the plan goes against the Constitution and sovereignty of the Republic of …

Read More »