ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested Kamil Atak, former mayor of the south-eastern town of Cizre, as part of a probe into the alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s, media reported on Sunday (March 22nd). Police nabbed him in a raid late Saturday in the province …

ANKARA, Turkey – Media quoted government officials as saying on Sunday (March 22nd) that Turkey may block Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy for the NATO secretary-general position. Ankara has expressed concerns over Denmark’s previous decision to allow Kurdish Roj TV, often criticised by Turkish authorities for distributing statements …

TIRANA, Albania – The ruling coalition, consisting of the Democratic Party (DP) and the Republican Party (RP), signed a pre-election agreement ahead of the June parliamentary elections Saturday (March 21st). Under the agreement, both parties will commit to focusing all resources and efforts on winning the elections. “I believe this …

Georgia’s Interior Ministry has reported that ten members of the opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia party have been arrested on charges of purchasing automatic weapons. The party’s leader Nino Burjanadze says the charges are false and are part of a “campaign of terror” against the opposition.

BUCHAREST – Romanian President Traian Basescu on Tuesday urged that international legislation be passed to curb criminality worldwide as criminals become more clever in breaking the law at home and abroad. The adoption of a policy of fighting criminality at the international level is necessary, considering that criminal organizations have …

BUCHAREST – Romania’s center-left government will likely approve on Wednesday an official letter requesting a loan package led by the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Monday. Romania approached Brussels and the IMF for support earlier this month, becoming the third European Union member after Hungary and …

A new Bulgarian national employment measure will open 87 000 new job opportunities. The Bulgarian Social Minister, Emiliya Maslarova, announced the measure Monday at the opening of a “Labor Transformation – Social Security and Dialogue” conference. The conference will be held at the University of National and World Economy in …

Air-raid sirens wailed on Tuesday as Serbia marked ten years since NATO’s bombing campaign against the regime of late president Slobodan Milosevic to halt its violent Kosovo crackdown. Solemn ceremonies were held at Belgrade monuments to children and journalists killed in the NATO sorties as the sirens were sounded across …

A proposal not to prosecute consenting adults for incest has sparked controversy in Romania, with the Orthodox Church leading public opposition to the move. The Romanian Justice Ministry is considering a change in the law, so that parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters can be exempt from prosecution for incest as …

Kosovo police on Monday prevented Belgrade mayor Dragan Djilas from entering Kosovo’s territory at the customs checkpoint at Konculj. Djilas, who is an official of the Democratic Party headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, planned to visit the Serb population in eastern Kosovo together with his associates, but was denied …