Kosovo opposition parties’ efforts to have the OSCE monitor the November 15 local elections have been in vain.Central Elections Committee, CEC, Spokesperson Fehmi Ajvazi confirms that the CEC will be the only body organising the upcoming polls, with the OSCE playing no role.

ANKARA, Turkey Iraqi, Turkish and US officials will meet in Ankara on Tuesday (July 28th) to discuss joint measures to combat terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members in northern Iraq, a Turkish government source said on Saturday. “Talks will be focused on co-operation in the fight against terrorism and ways …

BELGRADE, Serbia Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic in Novi Pazar on Friday (July 24th) and said Ankara will invest in construction of a highway through Sandzak. The Turkish diplomat called the Sandzak region “a green light” for further co-operation between the two countries. Jeremic …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj became the first defendant sentenced for contempt of court by The Hague war crimes tribunal. On Friday (July 24th), the tribunal sentenced him to 15 months in prison for revealing the identity of three protected witnesses in one of his books.

ZAGREB, Croatia Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development Minister Bozidar Kalmeta has submitted his resignation after Friday’s train accident which killed six and injured at least 50 of the 91 people aboard. The ministry’s spokesperson, Marina Haluzan, announced on Saturday (July 25th) that Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has not accepted the …

ZAGREB, Croatia Vesna Pusic will be the presidential candidate of the opposition Croatian People’s Party (HNS), party officials told a press conference Friday (July 24th). The move came as a surprise, as Radimir Cacic, chairman of the HNS, was expected to get the nod for the race later this year. …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn is urging BiH to implement constitutional reforms and close the Office of the High Representative to advance its EU bid. Rehn was scheduled to deliver a speech to parliament in Sarajevo on Saturday (July 25th), but cancelled his visit due …

TIRANA, Albania A heat wave across the Balkans took its first victim Saturday (July 25th), an elderly man found near the Durres-Tirana highway. In neighbouring Greece, temperatures skyrocketed to 42 degrees Celsius in district of Attica on Saturday. Elsewhere, a fire raged in the eastern part of Crete, forcing the …

BUCHAREST, Romania An earthquake registering 4.4 on the Richter scale shook the region of Vrancea in eastern Romania late on Friday (July 24th). It was also felt in Bucharest.Meanwhile, several minor earthquakes, with a magnitude of about 4.0 were registered in Macedonia’s region of Valandovo on Friday and Saturday.

TIRANA, Albania Authorities have decided to remove concrete bunkers that were built during the Cold War to defend the country from an attack that never happened, Sotir Zarka, mayor of the coastal municipality of Seman, said on Friday (July 24th). The bunkers have caused five deaths, including two children, and …