Eurasia

The government of Georgia and the influential Georgian Orthodox Church appealed for calm on Wednesday as the opposition prepared mass demonstrations to demand the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili. The opposition expects to being tens of thousands into the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Thursday at the start of …

ISTANBUL, Turkey – US President Barack Obama wrapped up his visit to Turkey on Tuesday (April 7th) by meeting with a group of 100 university students in Istanbul.

ANKARA, Turkey – Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Tuesday (April 7th) Turkey and Armenia have achieved some progress in ongoing talks to normalise bilateral relations.

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – The Hague war crimes tribunal announced on Tuesday (April 7th) that its judges denied an appeal by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for immunity from prosecution, based on a deal he allegedly had with former US envoy Richard Holbrooke. According to Karadzic, Holbrooke promised …

PRISTINA, Kosovo – European Parliament (EP) member Doris Pack on Tuesday (April 7th) voiced support for Kosovo’s EU integration but at the same time expressed disappointment with the government’s efforts to fight corruption. Pack, who is leading an EP delegation to Pristina, signed a co-operation agreement Tuesday with members of …

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters were expected to take to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi for the start of mass protests aimed at ousting President Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition leaders have vowed to rally at least 100,000 supporters and to continue protesting until Saakashvili resigns and calls early …

Bulgaria’s two biggest opposition right-wing parties have called for a moratorium on moves that would secure the country’s dependence on Russia after the current government steps down. The statement was triggered by the Socialist-led ruling coalition’s last minute efforts to negotiate a new contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom and …

Former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari is optimistic Moscow will recognise Kosovo’s independence, now relations between the US and Russia are thawing. The man who devised the blueprint for Kosovo’s supervised independence told Voice of America that it may take “some time in order for this to happen”. “I hope that …

Sofia – Bulgarian banks put up loan rates and fees, pulled consumer lending products and ended promotions in February as the global financial meltdown raged on, data from personal finance website moitepari.bg shows. DSK Bank, Raiffeisenbank and Emporiki Bank dropped unsecured consumer loan offers from their portfolios. Additionally, Emporiki now …

CHISINAU – The ruling Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova has won the majority of seats in parliament but will most likely have to reach an agreement with the opposition when the country’s president is elected. Iurie Ciocan, the secretary of Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission, announced the final results …