March, 2009

• 25 March

  UN Security Council starts debate on Kosovo

  NEW YORK, United States — The UN Security Council launched a debate on Monday (March 23rd) on Kosovo and the status of the Serbian minority there. No major progress was reported at the session, where UNMIK chief Lamberto Zannier and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented their quarterly report on the …

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• 25 March

  Constitutional commission backs amendment on BiH’s Brcko District

  SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – The parliament’s constitutional commission approved the draft amendment regarding the status of the Brcko District on Monday (March 23rd). According to the bill, the district’s legal status, as defined by a binding arbitration process that took place from 1996 to 1999, will be protected …

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• 25 March

  Bulgaria’s Stanishev discusses summer elections

  SOFIA, Bulgaria — In an interview with Reuters on Monday (March 23rd), Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said his Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) must win the parliamentary elections this summer to prevent the opposition Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria

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• 25 March

  Serbia requests advance of 120m euros from EU pre-accession funds

  BELGRADE, Serbia — The government on Monday (March 23rd) asked the European Commission (EC) to advance it 120m euros from the pre-accession funds already earmarked for Serbia. Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic met with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in an attempt to reach agreement on the issue.

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• 25 March

  Cypriot president warns elections in TRNC may harm reunification talks

  NICOSIA, Cyprus – President Demetris Christofias expressed concern on Monday (March 23rd) that election results in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) may harm ongoing reunification talks between the two Cypriot communities.

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• 25 March

  Turkish colonel detained in probe over missing Kurds

  ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested a senior military officer Monday (March 23rd) as part of an investigation of alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s. They detained Colonel Cemal Temizoz in the central city of Kayseri, where he commands the local paramilitary gendarmerie.

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• 25 March

  Former Albanian defence minister sues general prosecutor

  TIRANA, Albania – Former Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu’s lawyers have sued General Prosecutor Ina Rama for allegedly disclosing information from the investigation of the deadly blasts last year in Gerdec, media reported on Monday (March 23rd). Mediu is among 28 officials charged in connection with the March 2008 ammunition depot …

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• 25 March

  KOSOVO: Parallel Serb Administration Challenged

  MITROVICA – An Albanian group has filed a lawsuit against parallel structures set up to administer ethnic Serbs within Kosovo. Serbia had lost control over Kosovo, which it still claims as its southern district, after the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombing in 1999. That followed a period of repression …

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• 25 March

  Croatia to enforce spending cuts, eyes investors

  ZAGREB – The Croatian government will on Wednesday unveil a set of spending cuts needed to fix this year’s strained budget and reassure foreign lenders ahead of a Eurobond issue planed in April or May. As part of its anti-recession efforts, the government is likely to cut salaries of around …

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• 25 March

  Russian TV to show action movie about South Ossetia war

  MOSCOW – The first film about last August’s war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia is to be broadcast on Russian television at primetime on Sunday. The made-for-TV movie, directed by Igor Voloshin, is called “Olympus Inferno” and tells the story of a Michael, a young Russian-American entomologist who …

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