Athens and Skopje have given a cautious welcome to a proposal from EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule to hold talks over the Macedonia ‘name’ dispute.“Greece is not opposed to meetings in principle, under the condition that there be good preparation and, mainly, that a substantial result be ensured,” said Greek …

Tomslav Nikolic says Serbia has no intention of allowing Kosovo to obtain a seat at the United Nations.Speaking on Wednesday, President Nikolic said that Serbia would not allow Kosovo to join UN and the issue would stay off the table at upcoming EU-led Belgrade-Pristina talks. “If it was acceptable, I …

Mirela Mishgjoni, a criminal judge in the city of Vlora, suffered injuries to her face after an unknown suspect sprinkled her with a medical acid compound on Tuesday.Mishgjoni was attacked as she left her apartment for work and has been recovering in Vlora’s regional hospital. Judges in the city of …

Opposition Social Democrats threaten to intensify road blockades after Friday, if the government has not by then accepted their terms for taking part in the next elections.If the government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski does not show real interest in dialogue by Friday, the opposition says its supporters will increase …

The Austrian company is to start construction of a factory in the town of Subotica in northern Serbia in June.The construction of the new Swarovski factory will start in June and should be complete by late 2014, Mladjan Dinkic, Serbia’s finance minister, said on January 16, after meeting Swarovski managers …

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that France is backed by all European Union states for its Mali intervention. EU ministers met in Brussels earlier on Thursday and agreed to help Mali by preparing government troops to fight Islamist rebels. “All the European countries brought their solidarity to Mali, and all my colleagues …

Fighting erupted between rebels and Malian soldiers in the city whose capture by militants first prompted French military intervention, while French forces kept up their bombardments of another key town, fleeing residents said on Thursday. Mali soldiers claimed to

Thirty-five hostages and 15 kidnappers have been killed in southern Algeria. 41 hostages (from United States, Japan, Norway, France, Romania) and Algerians were taken hostage by armed militants near the Amenas gas field. The kidnappers motivated their action as a response for Algeria

Tahir ul Qadri (the leader of the anti-government protesters) gave the President of Pakistan a deadline for negotiations on Thursday, but the president hasn’t responded to his demand. However, the government recognized the protests and decided to send a delegation on Thursday to hold a dialogue with Qadri. Four ministers, …

France vowed to stop jihadists of Ansar Dine and their supporters in Mali, but highlighted it will not be an easy task even with the logistical support of United States and several African states. The military operation seeks to push Islamist groups out of the most important cities and