Twelve candidates will be in the run for election to office of the President in Croatia. The 12 candidates will race in presidential polls slated for December 27 to succeed the incumbent Stipe Mesic whose second term expires in early 2010.

Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas has embarked on a tour of the Balkans. Droutsas will be visiting Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Albania, starting Wednesday. The purpose of the visits is to coordinate these countries’ commitments for the European Union membership by 2014. “The Balkan is a …

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will meet Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko for talks on energy amid unease in Europe over possible cuts in gas supplies this winter. The two premiers are due to meet at the Livadia Palace in Yalta, the venue for the historic Yalta Conference …