Balkans

BERLIN (Reuters) – Macedonia expects the International Court of Justice to take at least three years to rule on its dispute with Greece over its membership of NATO, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told Reuters Sunday. Macedonia filed a lawsuit against Greece last month at the Court in the Hague accusing …

Sofia – The town of Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria registered a record high temperature of 28.6 degrees Celsius on December 4. Daytime temperatures across Bulgaria on Thursday shot above 20 degrees. It was warmest in Veliko Tarnovo, in central Bulgaria, with an incredible 28.6 degrees Celsius.

Sarajevo – An explosive device has been thrown at a local Bosnian broadcaster, Independent Television NTV Hayat, although there were no injuries and only minor damage. The attack took place Thursday night, at the time when there was no staff but only a night guard. Local police, who protected the …

Tirana – Opposition is mounting against a deal between Albania and Italy to build one of Europe’s biggest wind farms, after a Balkan Insight investigation lifted the lid on shady aspects of the agreement. In a protest held on Tuesday when the agreement for the wind farm was signed in …

Bucharest – Romanian President Traian Basescu has ended the first round of talks with political parties over the future Prime Minister, following the November 30 general election. “There were just preliminary discussions, so no final conclusion was reached yet. Negotiations will continue in the days to come,” said sources close …

Pristina – Representatives of security and political authorities in the northern town of Mitrovica said on Friday that the atmosphere remains tense after several cars carrying the KS sticker denoting they were from Kosovo were demolished and an Albanian girl attacked. The head of the municipality, Bajram Rexhepi, said he …

Pristina – The EU’s law-and-order mission, EULEX, will have a small presence in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo when it launches on December 9, says a mission spokeswoman. Karin Limdal told the BBC that the European Union mission will be present at six police stations and the court in the …

Pristina – The Czech Republic, the country who heads the up coming presidency of the EU, expects that more countries will recognise Kosovo in the coming year. Deputy Prime Minster for European Affairs, Alexander Vondra, said he expects recognitions to come from EU countries which have not done so yet.

Zagreb – Croatia is not yet ready to become a member of the European Union, a Dutch newspaper quoted European Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans as saying. NRC Handelsblad reported that Timmermans said that he “completely disagreed’ with the assessment of EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn after the EU Commission said …

Pristina – Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will open some 22 new embassies in countries around the world in 2009. In the Pristina daily newspaper ‘Zeri’, the ministry’s spokeswoman Albana Beqiri said these embassies will be set up by ambassadors, adding the that ministry will soon begin hiring …