Balkans

Authorities in Austria and Tirana are investigating allegations that an Albanian student was sexually abused after waking up from a coma following a tragic bus accident.Two parallel investigations are now underway after the family of 23-year-old Florije Peci alleged that she became pregnant as a result of a sex attack …

Kosovo police detained a man suspected of smashing religious icons at a Serbian Orthodox church amid a recent upsurge of desecrations.Police said the man, identified only as D.A., an ethnic Serb, was detained after he broke into the church in the village of Kufca in the Gilane region late on …

As Kosovo marked the fifth anniversary of its declaration of independence, Belgrade reiterated that it would never recognise Pristina’s statehood claims.Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Sunday that Kosovo’s independence was “an illusion”. Kosovo could exist “for another 100 years without being recognised by the UN”, Dacic told Serbian …

The Social Democrats refused to take part in next month’s vote after the government declined to postpone the polls for a month or to hold parallel early general elections.The country’s main opposition force acted on its boycott threat after the government turned down its demands, refusing to submit a list …

Macedonia’s cabinet faces a reshuffle this week, as several ethnic Albanian ministers quit to run as mayoral candidates in the March local elections.Macedonia’s junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has confirmed the reshuffle and revealed the names of the new ministers and deputy ministers from its ranks. …

Three times as many Croatians have a positive view of the Hague Tribunal after Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were acquitted of war crimes, an opinion poll suggested.Support for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY rose from 11 percent in December 2011 to 32 per cent in …

Bosniaks MPs in Bosnia’s Federation entity blocked confirmation of a no-confidence vote in the government, invoking the legal mechanism of claiming vital ethnic interests were at stake.The Bosniak [Muslim] caucus of MPs in the House of Peoples in the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity blocked a vote of no confidence in the …

Greek Cypriots will vote on Feb. 17 for a new president to guide them through a severe economic crisis as their country becomes the latest financially troubled European nation seeking international rescue money. For the first time in 40 years, the crisis has eclipsed efforts to reunify the divided island …

The Serbian security service said it had thwarted mafia-style plans to bring down a government plane with Prime Minister Ivica Dacic on board.The Serbian Police Directorate has informed Ivica Dacic, the Prime and Interior Minister, that “heads of certain criminal gangs were intending to cause a failure on a government …

The visiting Palestinians, due to take in a conference, were instead driven to airport and put on a plane to Turkey.Bulgarian security service agents “entered the hotel rooms of the three deputies early on Friday and drove them to the airport,” Mohd Abuasi, of the Centre for Middle East Studies, …