KABUL, Afghanistan – At least six people were killed Wednesday in an explosion caused by gunpowder in shops selling ammunition for hunting rifles, police said. Nine others were injured, and the blast gouged a huge crater into the neighborhood. Police, soldiers and crying relatives used their hands and shovels to …

Over President Traian Basescu’s strong objections, the Liberal Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has postponed European Parliament elections until the second half of this year. An “inappropriate domestic political climate” would hamper serious debate on European issues in the campaign to elect 35 Romanian MEPs, Tariceanu said, citing opposition attempts …

After years of reforms, the public is regaining their trust in banks and are no longer stuffing mattresses with their hard-earned money. The country’s banks currently hold about 3.2 billion euros in savings accounts. This is a 44.6 % increase in just one year, amounting to as much as 2.9 …

Citing the level of co-operation with Russia in the process of determining Kosovo’s final status so far, a senior US diplomat said on Monday (March 12th) that he does not expect Moscow to veto a Security Council resolution that would likely put the province on the path to independence. Russia …

 Military strategy has to be combined with political and development strategy in Afghanistan’s violence-torn south and south-eastern provinces, the top United Nations peacekeeping official said today. “It is essential to combine the three,” Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told a news conference in Kabul, the capital, at the end …

Macedonia’s ruling coalition, DUI set basis for negotiation process  13/03/2007  SKOPJE, Macedonia — Representatives of Macedonia’s ruling coalition and largest ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), met on Monday (March 12th), in another step aimed at resuming long-stalled political dialogue. Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska described this first …

The speaker of the lower house of Afghanistan‘s parliament defended his country’s newly passed amnesty bill on Monday, saying it was misinterpreted in the West. “Unfortunately certain elements have embarked on propaganda against it,” Mohammad Yunus Qanooni told reporters after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer …

A prominent Iranian MP described Bushehr nuclear power plant as a symbol of Iran-Russia cooperation, warning that any delay in the construction and launch of operation of the plant serves the interests of those opposing expansion of Tehran-Moscow ties.

Iranian Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi stressed that Iraq is in need of an Islamic coalition which could stretch a protection umbrella over the heads of all Iraqi groups and forces.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Iran enjoys excellent conditions and is stepping on the path of a giant movement and progress.