A strong earthquake strikes eastern Turkey, killing dozens of people in the province of Elazig. The village of Okcular is said to be "flattened".
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Greece's recent bond issue sells out within an hour of its offer, adding a ray of hope to the nation's dark economic picture. The EU's monetary commissioner urges the nation to "keep its chin up".
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Expected electricity shortages and neighbouring nuclear power plants have sparked a debate in Serbia on lifting a 21-year ban.
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As interest in social media takes off in the region, even presidents are getting into the act.
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Belgrade intends to use an EIB loan for innovation and research. In other science news, Macedonia hosted an "Innovations in Education" conference and young scientists in Bulgaria call for a new university.
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WASHINGTON, United States -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou meets with President Barack Obama on Monday (March 8th) in Washington, the latest...
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PRISTINA, Kosovo -- KFOR halted its co-operation with the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) on Saturday (March 6th) after members of the newly established...
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NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday (March 6th) in the northern part of the divi...
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TIRANA, Albania -- Council of Europe (CoE) Director for Justice and Home Affairs Ivan Bizjak says Albania must meet more requirements before it can b...
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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, head of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee in the European Parliament (EP) is...
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BELGRADE, Serbia -- The coalition "For European Negotin", composed of the Democratic Party (DS) and the Serbian Renewal Movement, won Sunday's (March...
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NOVI SAD, Serbia -- The trial against Serbian neo-Nazi leader Goran "the Fuhrer" Davidovic and eight other people -- over a 2007 attack on participan...
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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso has voiced hope that the influx of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedon...
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ZAGREB, Croatia -- The agriculture ministry and farmers agreed on Monday (March 8th) about payment of long-overdue subsidies. The deal will end farme...
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PODGORICA, Montenegro -- The first Montenegrin contingent of 31 soldiers was scheduled to leave for Afghanistan on Monday (March 8th). They will serv...
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SINGAPORE, Singapore -- A witness on Monday (March 8th) identified a Romanian diplomat assigned to Singapore as the driver responsible for two hit-an...
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PRISTINA, Kosovo -- A petition against the "political" trial of Vetevendosje (Self Determination) movement leader Albin Kurti has been signed by 145,...
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SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Prime Minister Boyko Borisov criticised President Georgi Parvanov on Monday (March 8th) for his behaviour in a recent dispute with...
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A pioneering enterprise in Vojvodina gives farmers from the Roma community greater access to the market.
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The Belgrade authorities say plans to move hundreds of Roma residents from their slum will go ahead, in spite of opposition from other inhabitants of the city who do not want the Roma as their neighbours.
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Community sets up Roma internet center to boost minority’s education level.
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With little schooling or financial resources, it is tough for Serbia’s Roma to make it to university, but the government’s affirmative action is beginning to signal a change for the better.
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Roma-language TV and radio have experienced difficulties with the regulatory authorities, but Roma broadcasters continue to reach a substantial audience.
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Legal loopholes and ineffective law enforcement have been a blessing for Kosovo gunrunners who have benefited from the authorities’ failure to address the problem.

By Krenar Gashi in Pristina

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Uncertainty over the make-up of Croatia’s new government causes few concerns outside the country as it prepares to become the next member of the EU and NATO.

By Christopher Cviic in London
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Serbia’s reliance on Russia to keep Kosovo appears to have backfired by prompting EU countries to line up behind the independence option in order to show their unity.

By Tim Judah in London
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Albania’s capital becomes a victim of its own phenomenal growth, as the city’s environmental problems multiply. 
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Voters’ disappointment and ignorance marred Romania’s first European elections, while a referendum on changing the electoral system failed due to low turnout.

By Marian Chiriac in Bucharest
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Bucharest/Belgrade - The cold wave which has gripped the Balkans for days took 11 more lives Thursday, raising the death toll in Romania to 53, while Serbia reported its first deaths. Romania reported nine more casualties in the past 24 hours, bringi...
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Greece expects to pass a tax reform bill early March, with a view to boosting revenues from 2011, the country's finance minister said on Friday, adding the legislation was key to shore up public finances.
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The supervisors of household appliance maker Gorenje confirmed on Thursday the targets for next year, projecting EUR 1.24bn in sales revenues and a net profit of EUR 10.09m. According to a press release by the Velenje-based company, sales revenues are expected to reach EUR 1.16bn this year, a 12.8% decrease on 2008.
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At an extraordinary meeting on January 18, shareholders of Eurohold Bulgaria will vote on a proposal to guarantee a loan of EUR 10 mln provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Eurohold’s leasing unit Eurolease Auto, the conglomerate said in a statement. EBRD requires cofinancing from Bulgarian banks at the amount of EUR 25 mln for 2010. Eurohold Bulgaria must guarantee the combined loans as an additional condition for financing from the EBRD.
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Turkish unemployment rate for Sep'09 (Aug-Sep-Oct period) as 13.4%, unchanged vis-à-vis Aug'09. Non-farm unemployment rate receded slightly to 16.9% in Sep'09 from 17% in Aug'09.
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On a press conference held on Tuesday, December 15, CEO of the company, Mr. Ante Jerkovic announced that figures for the end of the year will be satisfying and above expectations. Company should reach a net loss of between USD 4mn and USD 6mn, which is above their previous FY09 estimates of USD 30mn in net loss, said by Jerkovic.
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On weak toursim revenues, the current account slipped back to the red in October, show figures of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The shortfall totalled EUR 252 M (down 78% YoY) compared to a break-even current account in September and surpluses of over EUR 214 M and EUR 134 M for August and July, respectively.
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The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) sees its earnings at BGN 80.2 mln in 2010, down from BGN 456.0 mln projected for 2009, the central bank’s draft budget showed. The central bank expects the income from the management of its international currency reserve to diminish to BGN 161 mln in 2010 as a result of the financial crisis, vs. BGN 491.6 mln projected for 2009. BNB expects an annual increase of 5.2% in its currency reserves to BGN 22.5 bn in 2010.
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Labour Minister Ivan Svetlik told parliament on Monday that the jobless figure is anticipated to rise beyond 100,000 early next year, after standing at around 97,000 at the end of the year. Answering a question from an opposition MP, Svetlik told questions time at the outset of the December plenary of the National Assembly that the number of unemployed at the end of March 2010 is expected to stand at 101,000.
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Turkey's High the Court closed pro-kurdish partym DTP and imposed a political ban on 37 party members including two prominent MPs. The immediate consequence of the ruling will be on parliamentary arithmetic as DTP MPs announced that they would pull out from the parliament.
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The Government plans to collect about BGN 400m from state-owned companies such as SofiaAirport, Bulgarian Energy Holding, Air Traffic Control and Kinteks, a distributor of military-relatedproducts. Separately the Prime Minister announced that 1.1 million retired people will receive aChristmas bonus of BGN 25 in the beginning of January. The eligible persons are those with amonthly pension of below BGN 200.
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On a Christmas banquet held for partners and journalists, Mr. Jure Radic, CEO of Institut IGH announced tough year 2010. According to announcement, following year should be tough as was the current one. Although this year was year of the crisis and development stagnation, business result will be very positive and one of the best years for the company.
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Leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus are speeding up their 16-month long negotiations in a bid to reach a settlement by next March.
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Turkey's economy contracted 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2009, Turkey's statistics authority, TUIK, said Thursday.
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Greece's central bank Governor had recently advised domestic banks to limit their ECB exposure.Nevertheless, sources said that the four largest domestic banks are considering participating in next week’s LTRO.
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According to sources, following the market turmoil, the government plans to revamp its proposed 2010 budget and introduce new stricter measures to deal with the country’s deficit.
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Central Bureau of Statistics announced figures for construction sector in September. Construction work went down by 9.4% y/y while on the cumulative level, drop amounted to 4.4% y/y in the first nine months. New building still dominate in the structure of construction work, however their stake somewhat weakened from 63.2% to 59.4% in the total construction work. In October there were 1,114 building permits issued which represents a drop of 12.1 y/y. Unlike data for finalized construction work which is almost equally balanced between buildings and civil engineering work, new building permits are 87.4% issued for buildings.
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Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a preliminary 5.4% y-oy bn in real terms to BGN 18.056 in Q3’ 2009, while aggregate GDP dropped by an annual 4.7% to BGN 48.339 bn in the nine-months through September, data of the National Statistics Office (NSI) indicated on Thursday.
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Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a preliminary 5.4% y-oy bn in real terms to BGN 18.056 in Q3’ 2009, while aggregate GDP dropped by an annual 4.7% to BGN 48.339 bn in the nine-months through September, data of the National Statistics Office (NSI) indicated on Thursday.
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Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan said during a ceremony that that international credit rating agency Fitch’s decision on Thursday to upgrade Turkey’s sovereign rating by two notches to BB+ confirmed that the global economic crisis has indeed left the Turkish economy relatively unscathed.
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Turkey's industrial production posted a surprise rise of 6.5 percent on the year in October, the Turkish Statistics Institute said on Tuesday, signalling the economy is recovering after several months' steep contraction.
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The banks owed money by the insolvent Istrabenz holding agreed on Wednesday to accept a debt restructuring plan, Istrabenz chairman Bogdan Topic told STA. Topic would not go into the details of the plan, but media reports say that it is based on a proposal submitted by energy group Petrol.
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Moody's Investors Service withdrew the ratings of First Investment Bank for business reasons, the global ratings agency said on Wednesday. 'This action was taken with the consent of both parties and does not reflect a change in the bank's creditworthiness,' Moody's said.
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Eurohold Bulgaria posted a negative bottom line of BGN 3.581 mln in the nine-months through September, vs. a net profit of BGN 35.995 mln in the respective period of 2008. Sales revenue of the conglomerate rose by 29% y-oy to BGN 269.618 mln but its income from financial operations slumped by 77% on the year to BGN 9.149 mln. Moreover, operating expenses increased faster than revenues, by an annual 36%.
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