Europe

By Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife News Center SKOPJE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The man who has won Macedonia's presidential elections has pledged to solve a dispute with Greece over his country's name, which has delayed its entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

By BosNewsLife News Center ROME, ITALY (BosNewsLife)-- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled a trip to Russia and declared a state of emergency after a powerful early morning earthquake in central Italy killed scores of people and left many people injured and tens of thousands of people homeless.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Over 10,000 protesters, many of them waving flags used by Hungary's pro-Nazi regime during World War Two, demanded early elections Sunday, April 5, after the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party agreed on a new candidate for prime minister to tackle the worst economic crisis in generations.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife SKOPJE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The people of Macedonia voted Sunday, April 5, in the final round of presidential and local elections that are seen as key for the country's efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. A right-leaning candidate was expected to win.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife PRAGUE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Czechs were bracing for possible riots Saturday, April 4, as activists opposed to U.S. plans to install part of a missile defense system in their country said they would go ahead with a protest march during President Barack Obama's visit to Prague this weekend, despite a ban on the demonstration.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife STRASBOURG, FRANCE (BosNewsLife) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as its new secretary general Saturday, April 4, after Turkey lifted its objections to the choice.

By BosNewsLife Bureaus LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (BosNewsLife)-- World leaders meeting in London pledged on Thursday, April 2, a whopping $1.1 trillion to global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund to combat the global economic crisis, prompting investors to buy up stocks while the Dow Industrials in New York surged over 8,000 for the first time in two months.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST/PODGORICA (BosNewsLife)-- Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic claimed victory in the Balkan country's general election Monday, March 30, and pledged to speed up its entry into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

By BosNewsLife News Center ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- The lawyer of two Turkish Christians on trial for "insulting Turkishness” plans to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights after they were fined for taking "illegal" church offerings, trial observers said in comments monitored by BosNewsLife Saturday March 28.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife PRAGUE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Czech government has collapsed after losing a non-confidence vote in parliament late Tuesday, March 24. The vote came after the center right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek was criticized for the way it handled the economic crisis and for supporting a controversial American anti-missile defense system.