Eurasia

Serbia, Bosnia PMs Vow to Look to Future

Bosnia and Serbia should look forward and leaving their unhappy past behind them, the prime ministers of both countries agreed on Wednesday.Bosnia’s Prime Minister, Vjekoslav Bevanda, and Ivica Dacic, his Serbian partner, pledged to build a fresh relationship between the two countries in Sarajevo on September 12.Putting the bloody conflicts …

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Serbia to Honour Deadlines on Media Withdrawal

Deputy minister says new government will stick to Media Strategy and end its control of media once the necessary legislation is in place, and after public debate.In his first address since becoming Deputy Culture Minister, Dragan Kolarevic said that the state intended to withdraw from media ownership by the timeframe …

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72% of Bulgarians Disapprove of Govt’s Economic Policy

About 72% of the Bulgarians do not approve of the economic policy of the government of the ruling center-right party GERB and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, according to an annual public opinion poll “Transatlantic Trends”. The poll was conducted for the 11th time by TNS for the German Marshall Fund …

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French ministers meeting Romanian government about integrating Roma people

Two French ministers are meeting the Romanian government to discuss ways to improve the living conditions of the Roma people in Romania.The French Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, and France’s Europe minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, are due to hold talks with the Romanian President, Romanian Prime Minister and other officials in the …

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EU Urges Bosnia to Continue Work on ‘Road Map’

The EU’s Director General for Enlargement, Stefano Sannino, said that failure to deal with the Sejdic-Finci ruling by an August 31 deadline did not mean that Bosnia should abandon work on the rest of the EU “Road Map”.The director general of enlargement at the European Commission, Stefano Sannino, issued a …

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EU Investigators to Examine Kosovo Organ Testimony

At their next meeting with Serbian prosecutors EU investigators will consider whether to examine an unnamed witness who claims he removed a Serbian prisoner’s heart – which was then handed to a client at Tirana airport.A member of the EU special investigation team for the Kosovo organ trafficking case said …

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Video Barred from Albanian Ex-Minister’s Trial

The Supreme Court on Monday disqualified as evidence a key video, which appeared to show former economy minister Dritan Prifti sharing a hefty bribe with his former deputy.Fatmir Braka, Prifit’s lawyer, said the judges had ruled the video inadmissible as proof on the defence’s request. “Because the video is inadmissible, …

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Assault on Montenegrin Gay Activists Condemned

Civil society activists and officials have condemned the beating up of three men – two of whom took part in making a video promoting gay rights in Montenegro.Danilo Marunovic, director of the video, Todor Vujosevic, an actor in it, and their friend, Mirko Boskovic, a journalist at Montenegro’s public broadcaster, …

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Serbia Pledges to Cut Budget Deficit

Belgrade has acted to restore IMF confidence by adopting a draft budget review and a package of anti-crisis measures.Serbia’s Socialist-led government has adopted a 2012 draft budget review and 12 laws regulating public finance, designed to avert financial collapse. The measures aim to reduce Serbia’s consolidated budget deficit from 7.1 …

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Wife Tried to Dissuade US Embassy Gunman

The US embassy attacker, Mevlid Jasarevic, was removed from court for showing disrespect while his wife’s statement was read out; in it, she recalled her attempts to disssuade him from going to Sarajevo.The statement of Mirela Demirovic, Jasarevic’s unmarried wife, previously given to investigators, was read out at the trial …

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