March, 2009

• 8 March

  EU to allot to Bulgaria more compensation funds than the already announced

  Vidin. The meeting between Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso should be held because there is a discussion at the European Parliament on the economy restoration plan of the European Union, MEP from the Party of European Socialists (PES) Marusiya Lyubcheva said.

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• 8 March

  Energy Minister: Bulgaria Fully Prepared for Eventual Gas Crisis

  Bulgaria’s Energy and Economy Minister, Petar Dimitrov, assured Bulgarians Saturday that the country was fully prepared for an eventual gas crisis and would not end up in the January dire situation. Dimitrov, who spoke in a special interview for Darik radio, confirmed a new gas crisis was not to be …

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• 8 March

  Clashes at Kosovo Power Cuts Protest

  At least eight police officers and several people have been hurt in clashes between Kosovo Police and ethnic Serbs in eastern Kosovo during a protest against electricity cuts. Regional spokesman for the Kosovo Police Ismet Hashani told Balkan Insight that police confronted some 350 protesters in the central Kosovo Serb …

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• 8 March

  Serbia Seeks Consensus on Controversial Bill

  Serbia’s government will in the next few days attempt to reach a consensus among different opinions on the controversial anti-discrimination law whose adoption is a requirement for the country to get onto the European Union’s so-called “Schengen white list”. The B92 website reports that if a consensus is not reached …

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• 8 March

  Nosedive in Afghan-US relations

  Relations between President Karzai’s Afghan government and Washington are at an all-time low. As Richard Holbrooke – President Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan – prepares to make his first visit to the region since being appointed, the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Kabul looks at why the relationship has soured. …

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• 8 March

  US ‘not winning in Afghanistan’

  US President Barack Obama has said the US is not winning in Afghanistan, saying it is more complex than Iraq. In an interview with the New York Times, he said reaching out to the Taleban could be an option, in the same way outreach had worked in Iraq. However, the …

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• 8 March

  Obama’s Turkey visit to focus on Iraq, Afghanistan

  WASHINGTON — For one of his first foreign visits, President Barack Obama will call on NATO ally Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country viewed as critical to aiding the U.S. pullout from Iraq, turning around the Afghanistan war and blocking Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The invasion of Iraq has strained the long …

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• 7 March

  Abkhazia, Russia ink 49-yr pact

  Moscow, In a move likely to irk Western powers, including the US, Russia has signed a 49-year defence pact with Georgia’s breakaway republic Abkhazia, under which it will have a naval base at the country’s Black Sea coast. Under the 49-year agreement Russia will have an airbase in Gudauta and …

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• 7 March

  S.Ossetia says Georgia building new firing positions near border

  MOSCOW, March 6 – Georgia’s armed forces are building fortified structures near the border with South Ossetia, as well as new firing positions, the South Ossetian president said on Friday. “As of now, there are 35 Georgian armed checkpoints in the zone of European observers’ responsibility. Overall, there are about …

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• 7 March

  Georgia warns of Soviet restoration

  Prime minister denies feeling abandoned by EU’s and NATO’s renewal of normal relations with Russia. Nika Gilauri, the prime minister of Georgia, has warned the European Union and NATO not to “let Russia get away” with its recognition of two breakaway territories in Georgia, warning that it would then risk …

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