Balkans

Former ruling Democrat Liberal Party, PDL, has formed a new alliance of conservative parties ahead of December’s general elections – bu they have yet to come up with a name.“We are proposing a political platform based on centre-right values with the main aim of winning the next parliamentary elections,” Vasile …

The governments of Bulgaria and Israel have expressed hopes that they will be able to solve together the case of the Burgas Bus Bombing, according to their Deputy PMs Tsvetanov and Ya’alon the Bulgarian Interior Ministry said. Bulgarian Interior Minister and Deputy PM Tsvetan Tsvetanov received Wednesday in Sofia Israel’s …

Lawyer for Serbian hooligans jailed for killing a French football fan demands retrial as new witness comes forward, disputing the circumstances of his death.Retired policemen Dragan C, who was allegedly present when 28-year-old Brice Taton was fatally attacked by Serbian hooligans in 2009, has sent a letter to a Belgrade …

International judicial watchdog says it suspects judge was axed for protesting against government interference in the courts and for suing Bulgaria’s Interior Minister.The International Commission of Jurists, ICJ, an international human rights NGO, has expressed concern over the dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova by Bulgaria’s Supreme Judicial Council. Without a …

The former supreme commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, General Azem Syla, resigned on Wednesday from his position as the head of the commission tasked with verifying the status of KLA veterans.In his statement to the press, Syla argued that he was simply not the right person for the …

Several thousand protestors gathered in Skopje and other towns in what has become a regular weekly protest against hikes in utility bills.For the third week running, several thousand Macedonians protested in central Skopje on Tuesday before the headquarters of the State Regulatory Commission, which determines the prices of commodities.

There is some confusion over whether the Kosovo authorities have asked KFOR to help put out the fires that have been rampaging in the south and west.NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, says that it has not received any request from the government to help fight the blazes that have …

Croatia’s GDP likely to fall for a third quarter in a row, as unemployment mounts and living standards tumble, creating further headaches for the embattled government.Official figures on GDP growth in the second quarter of this year are to be published at the end of the week, but economic analysts …

The Vetevendosje Movement on Monday urged people to mobilize against the government’s planned sale of 75 per cent of its shares in the Post-Telecom company, PTKKosovo’s opposition Self-Determination movement has urged people to mobilize against the planned sale of the Post and Telecom company and the Trepca mines. Vetevendosje says …

Macedonia’s denar is not about to be devalued, the Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said, addressing recent speculation on the subject.Macedonia’s Finance Minister has appealed to people “to maintain faith in the domestic currency and keep their savings in denars”, denying reports that the currency was about to be devalued.