Eurasia

French Defense Minister announced on Friday that forces fighting Islamist rebels seized the town of Tessalit in northern Mali. He said that after air strikes, special forces were parachuted to secure the airport, supported by an armored infantry regiment that moved in on the ground. Canadian forces also took part …

The new parliamentary majority in Bosnia’s Federation entity has passed a vote of no confidence in the entity’s government.The House of Representatives in the larger of Bosnia’s two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on February 12 passed a vote of no confidence in the government. The vote was …

Russia has refused to provide evidence for the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo’s prosecution of Albanians in Pristina over illegal organ transplants.Moscow is refusing on political grounds to provide evidence about Russian citizens whose kidneys may have been removed and sold illegally at the Medicus clinic in Kosovo, the Serbian …

EU chief in Bosnia says it’s up to local politicians – not the international community – to find a way out of the current impasse over a key human rights ruling.The head of the EU in Bosnia, Peter Sorensen, on Tuesday dismissed reports that the international community will impose constitutional …

The Director-General of Enlargement at the European Commission, Stefano Sannino, on Tuesday arrived on a surprise visit to Macedonia to try to resolve the ongoing political crisis.The EU delegation to Macedonia confirmed that Sannino had arrived in the country but had nothing to add about his agenda. Unofficially, he has …

A Croatian civic initiative called the Referendum Rebellion is collecting signatures demanding a repeat referendum on Croatia’s EU accession, among other points.Besides a referendum on the EU, the group seeks votes on banning genetically modified products, on privatisation and on sales of state land. Group leader Zoran Mihajlovic on Tuesday …

The Croatian branch of the group of hackers known as Anonymous has called for mass protests against the sale of government property, describing it as an act of theft.In a video published on YouTube, the Anonymous group called on Croats to protest against government policies on February 15 in main …

The Albanian government on Tuesday argued in the Constitutional Court that a referendum on a banning imports of trash would only flood the country with yet more hazardous waste.Activists united under an umbrella called the Alliance Against Waste Imports, AKIP, have collected 64,000 signatures seeking a referendum that would delete …

Two Swedish brands, the furniture giant Ikea and the retail-clothing company H&M, have confirmed they are opening stores in Belgrade this year and next.Aleksandar Vucic, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced that the popular Swedish furniture company Ikea will be coming to Serbia in April 2014. “After a long time, the …

As the deadline nears for a decision on the announced opposition boycott of the local elections, EU politicians are heading to Skopje to kick start dialogue between opposition and government.As the deadline to submit lists of candidates for the March local elections looms on February 16, it will soon be …