Eurasia

Albania’s finance ministry said on Thursday it would borrow 250 million euros (315 million US dollars) from two foreign banks to cover its budget deficit. The ministry said in a statement it chose Deutsche Bank and Greece’s Alpha Bank for the loan from seven bidders who offered to lend the …

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn urged Slovenia and Croatia on Thursday to accept the European Union’s mediation in their border row, warning it was the only way to end their 18-year-old feud. “I expect from both countries a positive response,” Rehn told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of European …

(BELGRADE) – A Serbian government decision to withdraw a draft parliamentary anti-discrimination bill at the request of religious authorities has sparked outrage, local media reported Thursday. The draft, passed by the government last month, was unexpectedly withdrown from the statute book late on Wednesday, a day before the begining of …

Major archaeological excavations have started at four ancient sites around Macedonia, namely at the sites of Heraklea Lynkestis, Skopje’s Kale Fortress, Stobi and Isar. It is expected that the sites will be completely explored, Pasko Kuzman, Director of Cultural Heritage Protection in the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, told the Dnevnik …

MOSCOW, March 6  – Defense lawyers for former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner have requested the Moscow court dismiss new charges against their clients, a lawyer said on Friday. Khodorkovsky, 45, and Lebedev, 42, are already serving eight-year sentences for tax evasion and theft charges. The new …

Ahead of talks with her Russian counterpart Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Washington’s continuing stand on its relations with Georgia, saying, Washington’s engagement with Moscow in no way lessened its support for Tbilisi. She was answering questions on the future of US-EU relations and other …

TSKHINVAL, March 6 – An independent inquiry mission of the European Union, which will investigate the facts of the conflict in South Ossetia, arrived in the republic on Friday with Heidi Tagliavini at the head. EU emissaries will meet with South Ossetian presidential Plenipotentiary Representative on Issues of Post-Conflict Settlement …

TBILISI, March 6 – Erosi Kitsmarishvili, ex-Ambassador of Georgia to Russia, believes time has come for the beginning of a dialogue on the settlement of relations between the two countries. He spoke about it in an interview with Itar-Tass on Friday. “I think both Tbilisi and Moscow realise perfectly well …

Romania’s President Traian Basescu will on Monday address Parliament in a key note speech in which he will say that the country is facing difficult times and make an appeal to Romanians for austerity measures. “I will ask for support in getting a loan from the IMF or the European …

Sofia. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov met with speaker of Macedonian Parliament Tajko Veljanovski, president’s office press office informs. Bulgarian President pointed in the conversation Bulgaria will continue supporting Macedonia in its attempts for the realization of its European Atlantic perspectives, in the context of Bulgaria’s support towards countries from West …