Eurasia Press & News

Croatia will buy five firefighting planes to improve its ability to cope with wildfires, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said Sunday (July 29th). The country will get a Canadair water-carrying aircraft and three air tractor planes, Sanader said, adding that the government has earmarked 75m euros for fire-fighting activities this year.

The nine victims killed in the eastern Serbian village of Jabukovac on Friday night were buried by their families on Sunday (July 29th). Five men and four women were shot dead by 38-year-old Nikola Radosavljevic, who began opening fire after a quarrel with his wife.

The top Turkish commanders are expected to convene on Wednesday (August 1st) for the annual Supreme Military Council (YAS). The four-day meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Balkan states should continue judicial and security reforms if they want the current EU visa restrictions for their citizens

German career diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger was named Sunday (July 29th) as the EU’s representative in the upcoming talks between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo’s future status.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic arrived in Washington on Thursday (July 26th), pledging that he would strive to reduce tensions over the Kosovo issue. His visit came just days after Kosovo Albanian representatives met with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who reiterated US support for granting sovereignty to the …

An Israeli parliament committee passed a measure on Monday that would strip many post-office perks from disgraced former president Moshe Katsav, embroiled in a sex scandal. The Knesset finance committee voted to strip privileges accorded to former presidents, prime ministers, ministers and magistrates who have been convicted of moral turpitude …

Iran allowed UN inspectors to revisit a heavy-water reactor site on Monday, a place off-limits since April, in a show of transparency meant to help ward off harsher UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear activity.

Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has split again, a spokesman said on Monday, ahead of a United Nations and African Union (AU) meeting to unite the insurgents before peace talks with the Sudanese government.

Israel launched an air strike on Monday against a vehicle in the central Gaza Strip, wounding seven people, three of them activists, medics said.