ATHENS, Greece – Greece is being paralysed by a 24-hour national strike Thursday (April 2nd) organised by the two largest trade unions in the country — the General Confederation of Workers of Greece and the Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council.

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Opposition parties asked President Fatmir Sejdiu on Wednesday (April 1st) to schedule local elections in October. The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, and Reformist Party leader Teuta Sahatcia say the elections should be held before cold weather sets in.

ANKARA, Turkey – President Abdullah Gul hosted the third trilateral meeting among counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday (April 1st). Gul, Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari discussed ways to strengthen relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, joint economic projects, and the fight against terrorism in the context …

TIRANA, Albania – The opposition Socialist Party (SP) on Wednesday (April 1st) criticised the government for failing to prepare the country well enough for the June 28th general elections. The SP says Albania cannot guarantee that one fifth of the voters will be able to cast their ballot as a …

PRISTINA, Kosovo – The Ombudsperson Institution published a report Wednesday (April 1st) that blames UNMIK for rights violations the Roma have suffered in camps in northern Mitrovica since 1999. The report concludes that UNMIK has continuously violated international standards for human rights and it urges the government to intervene by …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – The economic crisis could lead to social unrest and new political turmoil throughout the Balkans, Hido Biscevic, head of the Sarajevo-based Regional Co-operation Council for Southeast Europe, told Reuters on Wednesday (April 1st).

MOSCOW – Russia sent a strong warning to the United States Thursday about supporting Georgia in the U.S. ally’s efforts to rebuild its military following last year’s war. The Foreign Ministry said helping arm Georgia would be “extremely dangerous” and would amount to “nothing but the encouragement of the aggressor.”

Russia has accused Georgia of planning revenge against pro-Moscow separatists and warned the US against arms sales to Tbilisi. Georgia’s US-trained armed forces were routed by Russian troops during a five-day war last August when Tbilisi tried to retake its rebel South Ossetia region by force. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili …

Bulgarian MPs have passed a new set of punishments for anyone found to be involved in ‘vote buying’ after the second reading of a new bill Thursday. Anyone found to be involved in vote rigging or buying will now receive a jail term of 1-3 years and a fine of …

Bulgaria’s President, Georgi Parvanov, will lead the Bulgarian delegation for the historical NATO summit. The NATO summit will be held Friday and Saturday in Kehl, Germany and Strasbourg, France and will mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Alliance. Parvanov is scheduled to participate Friday in the working …