Balkans

Kosovo’s International Civilian Representative has called on the country’s Serb population to begin to take part in the administrative structures at a municipal level, and seize opportunities that decentralisation offer them. “It is the time for the Serbs to make use of the possibilities decentralisation offers to them,” said Pieter …

Three citizens, who said they were Afghans, caught by Kosovo’s police on the Macedonian border near Kacanik, have asked for political asylum. Kosovo’s police did not want to comment or speculate on the reasons that prompted the citizens to seek asylum, saying that “their confidentiality is guaranteed by Geneva’s Convention”, …

`When we collect enough evidence about concrete people, we will raise charges,` said Sofia City Prosecutor Nikolai Kokinov. Bulgaria’s national security agency and prosecutors raided the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday and seized documents in an investigation into large-scale illegal land deals. The raid was part of Bulgaria’s drive to assure …

Members of the leftist PAME group waved red flags and chanted slogans on their way to parliament. More than 1,000 leftist unionists marched through Athens on Tuesday to demand protection of workers’ rights as the global crisis hits Greece. Members of the leftist PAME group waved red flags and chanted …

Still reeling from the worst riots in decades following the police killing of a 15-year-old, Britain is being asked for help. British police will help Greek authorities investigate a wave of violent attacks against banks and businesses, on the rise since riots shook the government in December, officials said on …

Olli Rehn said prospects to join the bloc helped to anchor political stability and economic reform in the Western Balkans. The European Union should not freeze plans to admit Western Balkan countries as members, the bloc’s enlargement chief said on Tuesday, responding to German doubts about the pace of expansion. …

The appeals chamber of the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up after the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s today upheld earlier convictions of a former top Bosnian Serb official and sentenced him to 20 years in prison for deportations, forcible transfer and persecution of non-Serb civilians during the conflict …

BELGRADE: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to provide crisis-hit Serbia with up to ¤3bn ($3.9bn) in aid over two years, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said yesterday. “The IMF is offering us… two billion (euros) this year and one billion (euros) next year” in the form of a stand-by …

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Serbs in the flashpoint Kosovo town of Mitrovica on Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of riots that left 19 dead and 900 injured. Kosovo Serb leaders laid flowers on the bridge over the Ibar river, which splits the northern town, in honour of the victims of the worst …

Albania faces an uphill battle to join the EU, with the PM acknowledging that hard economic times could create a ‘sentiment of reluctance’ among Europeans to welcome new member states. Tirana — Albania is determined to submit its candidacy for European Union membership in June despite the global economic crisis …