Balkan News

The Students’ Parliament of the State University in Tetovo, DUT, called for an all out Albanian boycott of Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony of Macedonia’s new President Georgi Ivanov. The students appealed to the heads of the ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia, and Albanian President Bamir Topi to boycott the swear-in ceremony …

Bosnia and Herzegovina legs behind all other Balkan countries in implementing reforms that would enable establishment of visa-free regime with EU countries, officials and media said on Tuesday. “Macedonia and Serbia has gone much further in the implementation of conditions for a visa-free regime. Bosnia and Herzegovina is lagging behind, …

Up to twenty people were injured Sunday in clashes between Kosovo’s police and Serbs, sparked by electricity cuts. The protests began at the eastern village of Gjilan/Gnjilane, when police say protesters gathered and blocked the Gjilane/Gnjilane-Bujanovac road. Kosovo Police said that ten policemen were injured as around 300 Serbs threw …

The scrapping of EU visas for Macedonia, Serbia and most likely Montenegro will probably be postponed for several months, media in Skopje claimed on Monday. The “visa wall” can only fall in mid-2010, and not at the beginning of the year as previously hoped, local Utrinski Vesnik daily reports. According …

SKOPJE, Macedonia NATO will keep its doors open to countries in the Western Balkans, outgoing Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer pledged on Friday (May 8th) during a visit to Skopje.

WASHINGTON, United States The IMF announced on Friday (May 8th) it has approved Kosovo’s application for membership, confirming reports by Kosovo officials earlier in the week. The IMF’s executive board has certified an earlier vote by the Board of Governors to offer membership to Kosovo, the IMF said in a …

ATHENS, Greece At least 14 people were injured Saturday (May 9th) in clashes between police, neo-Nazi protesters and immigrants in Athens, media reported. Violence erupted after a group of about 300 members of the neo-Nazi group Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) gathered in central Athens for an anti-immigrant protest.

PRISTINA, Kosovo Interior Minister Zenun Pajaziti urged Interpol Friday (May 8th) not to implement Serbia’s arrest warrants for Kosovo’s citizens. He was referring to Colombia’s move Wednesday to expel former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who is wanted by Serbia for alleged war crimes.

BUCHAREST The preservation of military monuments and cemeteries in Bulgaria and Romania will be subject to a bilateral agreement between the two countries. Currently, the departments in charge harmonize the document, Bulgarian ambassador to Romania Valentin Radomirski said.

A powerful Croatian politician, who was sentenced by a Croatian court in the first instance to 10 years in prison for murdering Serbs during the 1992-95 wars, is hiding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, media in the region reported on Monday. After four years of complicated investigations and trials, a Zagreb …