The heavy snow fall across the Balkans during the New Year holiday has left mountainous areas of Macedonia and Albania cut off and running low on food, with traffic bottlenecks affecting the rest of the region. The Albanian government called up army engineers and police special forces to free up …

Two Kosovo Serbs were attacked by a group of Albanians in Mitrovica, local police say, the latest skirmish in the tense divided town. The town of Mitrovica has been a flashpoint since Kosovo’s Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February. Some 20,000 Serbs live in the north of the …

Kosovo’s ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica could face bloody conflict if inter-ethnic tensions continue unchecked, a local Serb politician says. The town of Mitrovica has been a flashpoint since Kosovo’s Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February. Some 20,000 Serbs who live in the north of the town reject the …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli tanks, planes and ground forces pounded Gaza on Monday and the defense minister said the offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave would go on until Israel was safe. International efforts to secure a ceasefire moved ahead with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Middle East …

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel on Monday rebuffed European proposals for international observers in the Gaza Strip after any ceasefire, pushing instead for teams that will help search out and seal off tunnels that could allow Hamas to rearm. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a leading candidate to become Israel’s next prime …

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has hit gas supplies to countries in eastern and southern Europe facing freezing temperatures. Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January …

BOSANSKI BROD, Bosnia (Reuters) – A flare at the top of a 50-meter high tower in the Balkans shows Russia building political capital in a notoriously fractured part of Europe. The flame in late November marked the restart of operations in Brod, Bosnia’s sole oil refinery which had been out …

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – There is no immediate danger to Russian gas supplies to European Union industry or households for now from the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, the EU Commission said on Monday, but cautioned that the situation could change. Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January …

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Russian natural gas supplies to Romania remained at reduced levels on Monday as a result of the Russia-Ukraine gas row, the head of the Black Sea state’s state-controlled pipeline operator Transgaz said. “Gas inflows are still around 30 percent lower than contracted levels,” Transgaz director Ioan Rusu …

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – People in Gaza were in dire need of food and medical supplies, aid agencies said on Monday, but Israel’s ground assault and air raids were hampering relief efforts. Freezing cold is compounding the misery of children caught in the conflict. And body bags for victims are in …