Balkans

Bosnia’s largest newspaper publisher Avaz and the country’s Islamic Community has accused the office of the top international envoy in the country of slander, after its officials allegedly implicated top Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders in crime. The Avaz Publishing Company announced they are planning to press charges against Deputy High …

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Saturday that she was trying to find a replacement for former Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Damir Polancec as soon as possible, but refused to disclose any names. “I am trying to solve that as soon as possible. Consultations are under way, …

Thousands of Kosovo Albanians welcomed Bill Clinton in Pristina on Sunday in a ceremony to inaugurate a statue of the former US President. Clinton, who first addressed the Kosovo parliament, joined thousands of his fans in the “Bill Clinton” boulevard.

Dozvole za međunarodni cestovni prevoz (CEMT) u Ministarstvu prometa i komunikacija BiH dijeljene su mimo Pravilnika, a prevoznici su za njih morali plaćati ogromne sume novca. Kazao je ovo juče Drago Kalabić, predsjedavajući Istražne komisije za provjeru raspodjele CEMT dozvola Parlamenta BiH, pozivajući se na prijave prevoznika koji su se …

Croatia will hold the first round of presidential elections on December 27, officials said on Friday. If none of the candidates garners more than 50 percent of the vote, the runoff election will be held on January 10, 2010. The incumbent President Stjepan Mesic’s term in office expires in early …

Danube Bridge toll fees should be reduced, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Rosen Plevneliev told PMs on Friday, 30 October, adding he had sent a letter of request to the mayor of Ruse. The transit fees between Bulgaria’s Ruse and Romania’s Giurgiu are one of the highest in …

Former Serb army commander Predrag Kujundzic was convicted of crimes against humanity including murder and rape by Bosnia’s war crimes court on Friday and sentenced to 22 years in jail. Judge Saban Maksumic said the court found Kujundzic, 48, guilty of “committing and coercing sexual slavery, rape, severe deprivation of …

The EU and US remain committed to ending the political gridlock in Bosnia, despite the apparent failure of their joint diplomatic initiative earlier this month, officials said. EU and US representatives moved to dispel fears that they were abandoning talks on Bosnia’s future, saying that their senior technical experts were …

Macedonian Premier Nikola Gruevski held a short informal meeting with his new Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, on Thursday in Brussels, the first between leaders of the two countries in several years. Both prime ministers avoided journalists after the 20-minute discussion, which was held on the sidelines of the EU Council …

An IMF delegation and the Serbian government have reached an agreement on Serbia’s state budget for next year. Broadcaster RTS reports that there will be no increase in VAT and that the projected budget deficit will be 4 per cent, half a per cent lower than for this year.