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Eastern Europe

Birds, bears, bikers all play into Putin's stunts
Start with manly ventures — flying, hunting, scuba-diving. Add an element of danger — polar bears, tigers, fighter jets. Throw in a bare chest here ...
EU navigation system opens headquarters in Prague
The EU's industry and entrepreneurship commissioner says the bloc's long-delayed satellite navigation program is expected to be partly operational by ...
UN: No evidence of new food price crisis
Prices of basic foods remained flat in August, offering assurances that a repeat of the global food price crisis that sparked rioting several years ...
Report: Prosecutions of bribe-paying companies up
A new study that shows laws forbidding companies from paying bribes to win or influence foreign contracts have resulted in a rising number of ...
Czech government fights for austerity
The Czech government is re-submitting unpopular austerity measures designed to help bring the country's budget deficit below 3 percent of GDP.
Russia bets billions on turn toward Asia
Once a mysterious closed city during Soviet times, Vladivostok is ready to strut in the world spotlight as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic ...
Turkey accuses Syria of 'state terrorism'
Turkey accused Syria of "state terrorism" Wednesday after a sharp spike in the death toll from the Syrian civil war, and Iran came under new scrutiny ...
Beaked Putin to fly with cranes on hang-glider
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning to put on a fake beak and fly a motorized hang-glider to lead a flock of endangered young ...
Female keeper at Czech zoo injured by pygmy hippo
An official says a zookeeper in the Czech Republic has been rushed to the hospital by helicopter after being seriously injured by a pygmy hippopotamus
Gazprom shares down as EU opens antitrust probe
Shares in Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom suffered their biggest drop in five weeks Wednesday, on news that it is the subject of a European ...
Clinton, China haven't narrowed gaps on Syria, sea
Talks between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese leaders Wednesday failed to narrow gaps on how to end the crisis in Syria and ...
Moscow police nab Greenpeace polar bear protesters
Put your paws in the air. Moscow police have arrested 10 environmental activists, including four dressed in polar bear costumes, who were protesting ...
EU: Kosovo ties 'key' for Serbia's membership
The European Union's top official says that Serbia needs to improve its strained ties with its former province of Kosovo if it's going to make ...
Ukrainian orphan treated for severe burns in Mass.
Not much is known about how Ihor Lakatosh ended up with burns over 30 percent of his body. The little Ukrainian boy was severely malnourished and ...
Bride stealing custom all the rage in Bucharest
A white limousine screeches to a halt and a bride, resplendent in frothy gown and veil, is hauled outside by her abductors. It's one of Romania's more ...
France warns of Syrian chemical weapons attack
Western powers are preparing a tough response if Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime deploys chemical or biological weapons in its civil war, key ...
Czechs plan temporary ban on shale exploration
The Czech government has proposed a temporary ban on shale gas exploration until a new law is passed that would address extracting the new energy ...
Pussy Riot: No regrets despite prison sentence
Jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova says she regrets nothing about the band's anti-government performance in a cathedral that got them ...
Russian FM: All sides should stop Syria violence
Russia's foreign minister is urging other countries to try to persuade all sides in the Syrian conflict to stop the violence. Sergey Lavrov said ...
Miniature Yugoslavia on verge of vanishing
Blasko Gabric and his friends found it hard to cope with the collapse of Yugoslavia, so they made a miniature one of their own. Now, they could lose ...
Azerbaijan pardons, frees convicted killer
Armenia broke off diplomatic ties with Hungary after an Azerbaijani military officer sentenced to life in prison here for killing an Armenian officer ...
Russian tycoon Abramovich wins London court battle
Self-exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky lost his multibillion-dollar legal battle against fellow Russian mogul Roman Abramovich on Friday after a British ...
AP Analysis: Syria diplomacy stalls over safe zone
Turkey's non-starter call for a humanitarian safe zone inside Syria offers the clearest sign yet that diplomacy to end the bloodshed in the most ...
Reports: Russian denies Pussy Riot ties to murders
A university instructor on Friday confessed to killing two women in an apartment where a message demanding freedom for jailed members of the Pussy ...
10 things we learned during billionaires' battle
The $5.6 billion legal clash between Russian oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich offered a rare window into the lives of the fabulously ...