Balkans

The genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb fighter Aleksandar Cvetkovic heard how a young Bosniak survived because the body of a dead prisoner shielded him from gunfire.

Bulgaria and Bosnia could be be left without natural gas supplies if Russia halts deliveries via Ukraine, the President of the Russian Gas Society has warned.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic paid his first official visit abroad to Sarajevo on Tuesday, aiming to foster economic and political ties with the neighbouring country.

Police detained Emir Pajazetovic on suspicion of injuring about 30 people when he allegedly threw an explosive device into a disco in Velika Kladusa after being thrown out of the club.

Former policemen Nedjelko Kuljic and Zeljko Ilic, accused of wartime crimes including the torture and murder of non-Serbs in Bileca in 1992, insisted they were innocent.

Former Croatian Defence Council fighter Vid Palameta was indicted for alleged crimes against Bosniak civilians held prisoner at the Dretelj detention camp in the summer of 1993.

The EU, US and the OHR have urged Bosnia’s authorities to adopt a residence law at state-level and assure that returnee rights are respected, following unilateral action on the subject in Republika Srpska.

Two unnamed former Bosnian fighters suspected of committing war crimes during the early 1990s conflict, including the torture and murder of civilians, were arrested in the Netherlands.

The first prosecution witness at the trial of Nikola Maric, accused of the detention, persecution and killing of Bosniaks in the Prozor area, said that the defendant repeatedly assaulted him.

Snakes from former Yugoslavia that are allegedly capable of crushing children to death are causing alarm in a plush part of central London.