Romania

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale shook Romania's Vrancea region in the early hours of Monday.

The earthquake was registered at 2:23 AM at a depth of 104 km, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre. The epicenter is 157 km north of the capital Bucharest.

BELGRADE - Belgrade's National Theater will participate in the first International Balkan Countries' Theater Festival to be held in the Turkish city of Bursa on March 8-22, with their production of William Shakespeare's Henry VI, National Theater released on Thursday.

Besides the host country, the festival will gather theaters from Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece and Romania.

As fresh fighting broke out in Kiev on Thursday, and as the death toll rose, Romania's President expressed concern and called for a peaceful solution to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine.

“I am not supporting economic sanctions against Ukraine, but severe sanctions are needed against those responsible for the excessive use of force in Kiev,” President Traian Basescu said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Wednesday took over the role of interim Finance Minister while another member of his ruling Social Democrat Party, PSD, will temporarily head the economy portofolio.

The moves are the latest in a weeks-long feud among Romania’s ruling coalition members, which escalated after the parties failed to agree on cabinet changes.

The Serbian film Commission, SFC, has mapped out 160 locations suitable for filming as part of a bid to attract more producers of feature films, TV shows and commercials to Serbia.

The project, financed by the European Union and the Austrian Agency for Development, includes 34 municipalities and cities connected to the river Danube.

Romania's GDP growth leads the EU

Quarterly economic growth registers at 1.7 percent in Romania, Eurostat says. In other business news: Turkey ranks third in a list of the world's friendliest destinations for Muslim travellers; Albania encourages Italian investment.

The GDP in Romania grew by 5.1 percent this year. [AFP]

PARIS - Serbia ranks 54th among 180 world countries according to the degree of freedom of the media, while Macedonia and Montenegro are the lowest ranked countries in the Balkans according to the Press Freedom Index for 2014, Reporters without Borders organisation released.

Last year, Serbia claimed the 63rd place on the list.

BELGRADE - The Serbian national female tennis team will play against Romania in the match for the last place in the Fed Cup second world group, the draw in London determined on Tuesday.

Shifts cause Romania's ruling coalition to briefly lose Senate majority