Balkan News

Kosovo Checks True Number of KLA Veterans

The government has launched a bid to verify exactly who was in the Kosovo Liberation Army – amid disagreements over the numbers involved in the independence fight.Agim Ceku, Security Forces Minister, who is leading the governmental commission on the status verification of KLA veterans, members and internees, said: “Applications for …

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Montenegro, Bosnia Sign Extradition Deal

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the fourth country in the region with which Montenegro has signed an extradition agreement.The Justice Ministers of Montenegro and Bosnia, Dusko Markovic and Barisa Colak, signed the extradition agreement on Thursday. It will allow for the extradition of Montenegrins charged with grave crimes, particularly in the …

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Bosnia Muslims Appoint New Chief Mufti

Bosnia’s Islamic Community has a new Chief Mufti in Husein Kavazovic, replacing Mustafa Ceric, who led the community for 19 years.Husein Effendi Kavazovic was sworn in as Reisu-l-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia on November 15, vowing to work to improve the life of Bosniaks and the religious community.

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Romanian Ministers Reject Corruption Charges

Three ministers being investigated for possible conflicts of interest have rejected the claims, accusing the country’s anti-corruption agency of playing politics.Three ministers from the centre-left government are denying accusations from the anti-graft body, the National Integrity Agency, ANI, regarding alleged conflicts of interest and corruption. “I am innocent. I’ve decided …

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Facing the Past Still Taboo in Serbia

Twenty years after the end of wars in the Balkans the Serbian society still refuses to face up to the past, a round table discussion concludes.The round table named “ What is transitional justice in Serbia?” was held on Tuesday and it was organised by the Helsinki Committee for Human …

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Croatia Vice-Premier Quits, Faces Prison in Hungary

Radimir Cacic resigned on Wednesday after a court in Hungary sentenced him to 22 months in prison for killing two persons in a car accident in January 2010.Cacic crushed a car in Hungary on January 8, 2010, while driving on the Zagreb-Budapest motorway. Two persons died. In September 2011, a …

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Facing the Past Still Taboo in Serbia

Twenty years after the end of wars in the Balkans the Serbian society still refuses to face up to the past, a round table discussion concludes.The round table named “ What is transitional justice in Serbia?” was held on Tuesday and it was organised by the Helsinki Committee for Human …

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Nimetz Calls Fresh Macedonia ‘Name’ Talks

The UN mediator in the Macedonia-Greece ‘name’ dispute, Matthew Nimetz, has called fresh meetings with the two countries’ negotiators next Monday and Tuesday in New York.The mediator’s office said that Macedonian negotiator Zoran Jolevski and Greece’s Adamantios Vassilakis will first have separate meetings with Nimetz to assess the status of …

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Sanader Trial: Ex-PM ‘Betrayed National Interest’

Ivo Sanader ‘betrayed vital national interests’, prosecutors said in their closing words on Wednesday in the bribery trial concerning Hypo bank and the Hungarian oil company MOL.”Sanader used his official posts, from becoming deputy Foreign Minister in 1994 to Prime Minister in 2008, for his own private interests,” Vanja Marusic …

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Bulgaria PM Urges Controversial Judge to Withdraw

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has again urged Veneta Markovska, who was recently elected a Constitutional Court judge, to withdraw.Markovska’s nomination to the Constitutional Court, following her election as one of two parliamentary candidates to serve on the Court, has caused controversy. Markovska, a deputy chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court, …

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