December, 2008

• 11 December

  Moldova ‘Wants Good Ties with Romania’

  Moldova’s President Vladimir Voronin has been cited as saying by his country’s state-owned news agency, that he wants good relations with often tense neighbour, Romania. “We have absolutely nothing against the Romanian people and state. Romania is our neighbour, a member of the European Union. That is why, it would …

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• 11 December

  Slovenia ‘Postpones Kosovo Donations’

  Slovenia’s government is postponing donations worth €500,000 to Kosovo planned for this year, Belgrade’s Beta news agency reports. The exact reason for the postponement is not known although the money will be handed over to Pristina authorities next year.

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• 11 December

  Ahtisaari: Serbia Must Face Past Wrongs

  Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari says Serbia must recognise past wrongs in its relationship with Kosovo before it is ready to join the European Union. The former Kosovo envoy says the Serbs “have to be able to live with their past.”

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• 11 December

  Greek Mayor ‘Wants Albania’s EU Bid Blocked’

  The ethnic Greek mayor of the Albanian southern town of Himara has come under harsh criticism after asking Greece not to ratify a key deal seen as a vital step in Albania’s EU bid. According to a memo leaked to the local media, the mayor, Vasil Bollano, who is also …

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• 11 December

  Kosovo Opposition ‘Secures Recognitions’

  A leader of a Kosovo opposition party claims he has had success in securing two more recognitions of Kosovo’s independence – from Qatar and the Maldives. Behgjet Pacolli, the head of the Alliance for a New Kosova, said that during his stay in the United States, he was promised by …

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• 11 December

  Macedonia President: ‘Name’ Talks Blocked

  Talks between Greece and Macedonia at the UN over the ‘name row’ are practically blocked with no signs of progress, Macedonia’s President Branko Crvenkovski claims. “The stalemate in negotiations means that our integration into NATO and the European Union are also blocked,” Crvenkovski said in an interview with the local …

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• 11 December

  EU To Send Mission to Probe Bulgaria Funds

  The European Commission is to send a new technical mission to Bulgaria in January to assess the progress made in addressing irregularities in the management of EU funding. This was announced by Michael Leigh, the Commission’s director general for enlargement, said during a visit to Sofia on Monday.

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• 11 December

  Croatia ‘Withheld Key Info’ on Fugitive General

  Croatian authorities withheld for one year information that may have led to an earlier arrest of a fugitive general, now standing trial before a United Nations war crimes court, a newspaper reports. In April 2004, the state’s attorney’s office, the police and secret services all had information that then-fugitive general, …

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• 11 December

  War with Pakistan “no solution,” India says

  NEW DELHI (Reuters) – War is “no solution” to stop Pakistan-based militants from launching anti-India attacks, India said on Thursday, while Pakistan vowed to act against militants added to a U.N. terrorist list after the Mumbai attacks.

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• 11 December

  Suicide bomb kills at least 46 in Iraqi restaurant

  KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed at least 46 people and wounded around 100 on Thursday in a crowded restaurant near Iraq’s ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, shattering the calm during a major Muslim holiday, police said.

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