The ongoing political crisis in Romania has reached a new high point, just days before the November 22 presidential elections. It is becoming increasingly evident that what is at stake is a bitter struggle between rival cliques within the ruling elite over power, influence and money. The country has been …

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will meet Thursday his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko to try to prevent new gas crisis. The two leaders will meet in the Livadiya Castle in Crimean resort Yalta, where in 1945 Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill have redrawn the after war map.

European Union leaders will gather in Brussels later to select their first full-time president and foreign affairs high representative. The heads of the 27 EU member nations are divided over which candidates to choose, and after-dinner negotiations are expected to last into the night. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair …