The peaceful conduct of both the presidential and parallel local elections contrasted with the violence of last year`s parliamentary poll. Politics professor Gjorge Ivanov took a clear lead over his rivals on Monday in the first round of Macedonia’s election hailed by the European Union for its lack of violence. …

The second election round, in which the candidate with most votes becomes the president, is scheduled for April 4. Slovakia’s President Ivan Gasparovic won the first round of a presidential election, results showed on Sunday, and he faces the strongest opposition candidate in a runoff vote in two weeks. Saturday’s …

TIRANA, Albania — Doris Pack, head of the European Parliament’s committee for southeast Europe, said on Friday (March 20th) that Albania was not ready for EU accession. “Albania has a long way to go before joining the EU, and it has to continue working to fulfil the EU conditions in …

PRISTINA, Kosovo – KFOR troops have not received official information when the Spanish military contingent will leave Kosovo, KFOR spokesman Adriano Graziani said on Saturday (March 21st). Last week, Spanish Defence Minister Carmen Chacon announced Spain would withdraw its troops, though she did not set a firm date. Spain has …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – The Mostar-based NGO Croatia Libertas announced on Sunday (March 22nd) that it has filed suit against several Bosnian Muslim politicians and military leaders it accuses of war crimes. Croatia Libertas filed the lawsuits with the BiH prosecutor as well as with the Mostar cantonal …

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 …