Balkans

Albania Deputy Prime Minister, Genc Pollo, was fined by a Tirana court on Tuesday for slander over comments made toward the publisher of a local newspaper. Pollo was fined 300,000 lek (€2307) over comments he made during a press conference while serving as Albania’s Minister of Education in 2007. In …

NATO sought to put an end to media speculation that it plans an imminent reduction of troops in Kosovo when the organisation’s Secretary General Jaap to Hoop Scheffer said nothing of the sort has been decided. “I want to be clear. Those speculating of a possible KFOR troops reduction in …

The UN Security Council will discuss the UN’s mission to Kosovo on March 23, a statement from UN said. The Libyan ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Dabashi, whose country will lead the Security Council in March, said the Council will discuss the report of the Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon on …

Dialogue between officials in Pristina and Belgrade is key to the stability of the Balkan region, International Civilian Office chief Pieter Feith on Tuesday. Serbia has vowed to never recognize Kosovo’s seccession and relations between Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians are tense and occasionaly hostile. Serbia has blocked imports coming …

Refusing to recognise the authority of the Hague Tribunal to try him, Radovan Karadzic, who is charged with genocide and war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-95 war, once again declined to enter a plea. “This Court has no right to try me,” Karadzic said, again invoking …

A non-commissioned officer within the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) and a Bulgarian citizen were arrested on Tuesday on charges of espionage and treason for allegedly passing on classified information to Ukraine. Romanian prosecutors say officer Floricel Achim passed classified military information, between 2002 and 2007, to Bulgarian citizen Marinov Zikolov …

In a keynote speech delivered at an annual forum of Serbian economists the country’s president Boris Tadic delivered an impassioned call for an end to links between business, the state and crime. Addressing what some sections of the media have dubbed “Serbia’s Davos”, Tadic told delegates that without greater development …

The director of the Development Bank in the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat Federation has verbally assaulted members of the financial police and blocked their investigation into his own alleged misuse of power. In what threatens to be one of the biggest corruption scandals in the Federation in the past year, the …

Bulgaria expects a new crisis with the supplies of Russian natural gas, and a gas restriction plan is set to be put forward in a few hours, the Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov announced, cited by Darik Radio Wednesday. “Bulgaria is aware, and prepared for it”, Dimitrov added explaining his concerns …

Sofia. The MPs are discussing the motives in the bill amending the Constitution. The amendments have been tabled by MPs from National Movement for Stability and Progress. The motives were presented by Kamelia Kasabova. The amendments to the Constitution concern the carrying out of national and European parliaments elections on …