Eugen Tomiuc is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
At the heart of a new attempt to foster cooperation in the Black Sea is the desire to secure alternative supplies of energy, reduce international crime, and end post-Soviet conflicts.
The war on terror has diverted the world's interest and material resources from human rights emergencies, and caused "enormous damage" to the lives and livelihoods of the ordinary people, concludes Amnesty International's 2006 report on "The State Of The World's Human Rights," released on May 23.
A new UN report calls for the United States to close its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and to end the use of secret prisons in its war on terror.
PRAGUE, May 16, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The European Commission issued a report today warning Romania and Bulgaria they must do more to meet accession criteria before they can officially join the European Union.
Jose Manuel Barroso said he wants the two countries in the EU "as soon as possible" (epa) PRAGUE, May 15, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As the European Commission prepares to issue a report on May 16 assessing the readiness of Romania and Bulgaria to join the European Union on January 1, 2007, statements from various EU officials indicate that three options are on the table.
A conference of Muslim leaders from across Europe ended in Vienna on April 9 with a final declaration calling for European Muslims to become more deeply integrated while preserving their identities.
A conference of Muslim prayer leaders, known as imams, from all over Europe, is due to open in Vienna on April 7. On the agenda at the three-day meeting is how to integrate Muslim communities into the European mainstream while maintaining European Muslims' identity. One participant, Dr. Adly Abu Hajar, secretary-general of the European Islamic Conference and president of the Scandinavian Muslim Academic Council, talked about the image of Islam in Europe and how European imams can build bridges between Muslims and people of other faiths.
A conference of Muslim prayer leaders from across Europe opens in Vienna today and topping the agenda is how to integrate Muslims into mainstream Europe without compromising their Muslim identity.
A conference of Muslim prayer leaders from all over Europe in Vienna on is to discuss how to integrate Muslim communities into the European mainstream while maintaining European Muslims' identity.
In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with RFE/RL in Chisinau on March 24, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin discussed the situation regarding the separatist region of Transdniester and the introduction of customs controls on its border with Ukraine, as well as Moldova's relations with Russia and the West.
In an exclusive RFE/RL interview, President Vladimir Voronin lashed out at the presence of Russian troops in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester, and praised Ukraine's decision to introduce new customs regulations at its border with the region.
Voters in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester have gone to the polls to elect a new local parliament, in an election being ignored by foreign governments and international organizations.
The presidents of Moldova and Romania said after meeting in Bucharest that they are disappointed with the 5-6 December summit on the Transdniester dispute. The summit was to make progress in convincing Russia to withdraw its troops from Moldova's separatist region.
(official website) Representatives of the 192 signatory countries of the Geneva Conventions are scheduled to meet in Switzerland next month to discuss adding a new emblem to represent the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations. The red square on a white background has been dubbed the "red crystal." The symbol is free of any religious connotations and would allow countries with mixed religious traditions to become full members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. If adopted, the new emblem would also clear the path for Israel's membership.
A Romanian health-services worker killing birds in October in an effort to prevent the spread of avian flu International officials are warning that the world is not yet fully prepared to deal with a possible pandemic if the bird-flu virus mutates into a human strain. EU foreign ministers are urging global cooperation to tackle the threat, while many countries are seeking to boost their stockpiles of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug seen as a first line of defense. Roche, the Swiss company that manufactures the drug, says it might allow other countries to produce Tamiflu under license, while a Dutch company has announced it is developing a vaccine against the virulent H5N1 bird-flu strain.
Greece has become the latest country to announce that it has detected the bird-flu virus on its territory. The announcement comes amid warnings from the United Nations health agency that more outbreaks can be expected in Europe and other regions. Cases of bird flu have already been confirmed in Romania and Turkey, while tests are now being carried out on birds in Bulgaria and Croatia. EU foreign ministers met today in Brussels to discuss measures to contain what they called a global threat.
King Michael The lower house of the Romanian parliament has approved a restitution bill awarding 30 million euros ($36 million) to King Michael, the country's former monarch, to compensate for property confiscated by the communist regime. The decision marks the end of a long struggle by Romania's former royal family to obtain material and moral reparations. It also shows that relations between Romanian authorities and the country's former royal family are improving.
Prague, 29 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Thomas Pietschmann is research officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He is also one of the main authors of the World Drug Report 2005, which was issued today. Pietschmann talked to RFE/RL about the report and the role of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia in the global drug market. Pietschmann said drug production has links to crime, terrorism, and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Transdniestrian leadership's headquarters (file photo) A recently proposed plan for the resolution of the conflict between Moldova and its breakaway region of Transdniester was met with moderate optimism by both sides during a two-day meeting in Ukraine this week. The Ukrainian proposal raised hopes that negotiations to resolve the frozen conflict could be restarted. The plan provides for expanding the negotiations framework to include the European Union and the United States alongside Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). But doubts still persist about the separatists' commitment to the plan, which also envisages the initiation of a democratization process in Transdniester.
As we mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, RFE/RL is looking again at some of the factors that determined the course of the struggle and shaped the new world that emerged from it. The former monarch of Romania, King Michael, is currently in the Czech Republic as part of his tour to honor the memory of Romanian soldiers who died while fighting to liberate Hungary and Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation. The king is the last surviving head of state from World War II. King Michael spoke today with RFE/RL about the impact Romania's decision to join the Allied cause had on the outcome of the war.
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