BUCHAREST (AP) – Over 2,000 opposition supporters rallied yesterday in a call to impeach President Traian Basescu, accusing him of abusing his powers. Parliament suspended Basescu until a May 19 national referendum on whether he should be removed from office. Basescu, a widely popular figure in Romania, has denied the accusations against him. “We need a president to unite Romanians, not divide them,” said Senator Mircea Geoana, who chairs the Social Democratic Party, which wants Basescu impeached. “Vote ‘yes’” to dismiss Basescu in the referendum, he said.

ISTANBUL (AP) – Kurdish rebels killed a Turkish soldier in a clash in the east of the country, NTV television reported yesterday. The death occurred near the town of Dogubayazit on the Iranian border.

Croatia’s parliament yesterday ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which commits nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to try to slow global warming. The former Yugoslav country, which hopes to join the EU in 2009, signed the Kyoto treaty in 1999, but held off ratification until getting approval last year for a higher limit of annual carbon dioxide emissions. Without the higher limit, “our economic progress would be slowed down significantly,” said Nikola Ruzinski of the Environmental Ministry. (AP)

A Croatian museum said yesterday it believes it has uncovered a previously unknown Vincent van Gogh painting in its possession, adding that its authenticity had been confirmed by a Dutch expert. An “oil painting signed ‘Vincent,’ the author of which is believed to be Vincent Van Gogh” was discovered in storage at the Zagreb Mimara Museum, it said in a statement. The painting features a group of people in a clearing and focuses on five peasant women walking next to each other. It was believed to have been produced by the Dutch master in 1882. (AFP)

The Romanian capital Bucharest will host the 20th summit of heads of state and government from the NATO military alliance in a year, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced yesterday. (AP)

A Croatian third division soccer player got a shock when he saw a flock of sheep waiting for him at work. Ivica Supe, a 29-year-old playing for NK Zagor, has been given 16 sheep by local shepherd Josko Bralic as a bonus for the 16 goals he has scored this season. “I was really shocked and I have no idea what to do with so many sheep because I plan to score more goals,” Supe told Croatian media. (Reuters)