News stories by Claudia Ciobanu, page 9

Moldavians are heading for general elections this Sunday. After a campaign marred with illegalities, the incumbent Communist Party is confident of winning most seats in the national parliament.

The World Ski Cup for women last weekend was organised in Bulgaria at a ski resort whose development is partially illegal, and which is damaging a world heritage site.

Protests have been taking place in Bulgarian capital Sofia almost every day since Jan. 14. Bringing together students and parents, farmers and environmentalists, the actions are directed against a political class which, in the words of the organisers, has 'robbed' Bulgarians.

A work of art exhibited this week in Brussels has turned out to be an unusual test for whether some Europeans are able to laugh at themselves. Just as the artist intended.

The gas crisis has placed environmental concerns on the backburner, and raised demands for nuclear production at plants once considered unsafe.

Fears about the impact of the global financial crisis in Eastern Europe may be overblown. While economic growth is likely to slow down in 2009, it is improbable that countries like Romania and Bulgaria will be hit as hard as Britain or the U.S.

The killing of a student in front of a nightclub in Studentski Grad (Student City) in Sofia has brought to the fore the chaotic and insecure living conditions of tens of thousands of students housed in the quarters.