Eurasia

The idea of an exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia, circulating in the media, is wrong-headed, former envoy Albert Rohan believes. Rohan, who served as the deputy special envoy for talks on Kosovo’s status, was unequivocal in his rejection of territorial exchanges in an interview with Kosovo’s Daily Express …

Albanian officials are refusing to cooperate with a probe into alleged organ trafficking during the Kosovo conflict. Referring to the accusations, Albanian officials told investigator Dick Marty that “there can be no organ trade probe based on the accusations of Carla Del Ponte or Belgrade,” Serbia’s Beta news agency reports.

Political leaders have made “little progress” in meeting the conditions required for the final closure of the Office of the High Representative, Bosnia’s top international envoy said. Because of this situation, the closure of the OHR and establishment the Office of the EU Special Representative remain uncertain, western diplomats told …

The leader of Bosnia’s Islamic Community, Mustafa Ceric, and Kosovo Mufti Naim Ternava have called on Muslims not to succumb to radicalism. The call came as Ceric led Thursday prayers at a Pristina mosque. “Islam has nothing in common with radicalism and terrorism. Therefore many missionaries that come from the …

NICOSIA, Cyprus Leaders of the two communities on the divided island have made significant progress in reunification talks but no pressure should be exerted to strike an agreement, UN special envoy for Cyprus Alexander Downer told AP on Wednesday (August 5th). “We haven’t set a timeline,” Downer said.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he was kidnapped by Serb authorities and held without any communication for several days after he was detained in July 2008, according to a document released Wednesday (August 5th) by the UN war crimes tribunal. Karadzic, 64, insists on receiving …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Representative Valentin Inzko is warning BiH officials that he will consider alternative measures to guarantee the inventory of state property unless the working group responsible for this does its job and collects the necessary documents. Inzko said in a letter published Wednesday (August 5th) …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Forensic experts announced Wednesday (August 5th) that they have identified the remains of Colonel Avdo Palic, former commander of Bosniak forces in the Zepa “safe” area. Palic went missing in July 1995, at the end of the Bosnian conflict, after Bosnian Serb forces over-ran the enclave.

ATHENS, Greece An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale rocked southern Greece early Thursday (August 6th). The epicentre was about 50km north of Kalamata on the Peloponnese island and about 165km southeast of Athens. No injuries or damage was reported.

It took the International Commission for Missing Persons, ICMP, eight years to identify the remains of Avdo Palic, a Bosnian Army colonel from Zepa. Interviews which BIRN’s-Justice Report held with Palic’s wife Esma, ICMP and other officials, shed more light on the controversy.