January, 2013

• 17 January

  Pakistani government to have dialogue with cleric that leads protests

  Tahir ul Qadri (the leader of the anti-government protesters) gave the President of Pakistan a deadline for negotiations on Thursday, but the president hasn’t responded to his demand. However, the government recognized the protests and decided to send a delegation on Thursday to hold a dialogue with Qadri. Four ministers, …

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• 17 January

  France pledges to stop jihadist expansion in Mali

  France vowed to stop jihadists of Ansar Dine and their supporters in Mali, but highlighted it will not be an easy task even with the logistical support of United States and several African states. The military operation seeks to push Islamist groups out of the most important cities and

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• 16 January

  Serbia, Albanians in Showdown over Guerrilla Monument

  Belgrade warned it could deploy police to help remove the memorial to ethnic Albanian fighters in south Serbia but local authorities vowed to legally resist.Serbia’s justice ministry said on Wednesday that the deadline to take down the controversial monument in the town of Presevo had already passed at midnight the …

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• 16 January

  Freedom House Ranks Balkans ‘Partly Free’ and ‘Free’

  Annual report on the state of global freedom by Freedom House, shows Balkan countries remain divided into ‘partly free’ and ‘free’, with only Bosnia moving up the table a notch.The US watchdog Freedom House has ranked Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia “partly free” countries, while Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, …

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• 16 January

  Kosovo Arrests Serbian Grave Desecration Suspect

  Police have detained a man suspected of destroying Serbian Orthodox graves in Kosovo Polje but insisted that he wasn’t motivated by ethnic hatred.A police statement said that a 48-year-old man, named as M. Buzuku, an ethnic Ashkali, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon for allegedly vandalising more than 50 gravestones. Police …

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• 16 January

  Bulgaria to Start Afghanistan Withdrawal Process

  Cabinet expected to agree on Wednesday to partly terminate the military mission to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.The Bulgarian decision will be made in accordance with the strategy for the transformation of participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, which the government in Sofia adopted at the end of 2011. …

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• 16 January

  Kosovo-Serbia Border Talks in Stalemate

  EU-led talks between Belgrade and Pristina ended on Tuesday without much progress on a recent border management deal.Talks on implementing the “Integrated Border Management Agreement” and preparing for the next round of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on January 17 ended inconclusively on Tuesday. Following a meeting of the …

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• 16 January

  Serbia Tops Germany’s Asylum Seekers List

  The highest number of people who sought asylum in Germany in 2012 came from Serbia, recent German foreign ministry data show.Data from the German Foreign Ministry show that 8,477 of the 64,539 people who requested asylum in Germany in 2012 came from Serbia, ranking the country first in the list …

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• 16 January

  Parents Face Suspects at Macedonia Mass Murder Trial

  The parents of five victims in the politically-charged case gave emotional testimony at a Skopje court as they faced those accused of killing their sons.The parents of five victims in the politically-charged case gave emotional testimony at a Skopje court as they faced those accused of killing their sons.With tears …

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• 16 January

  Montenegro Shuts Media out of Constitutional Talks

  Parliament’s constitutional committee was to discuss changes intended to bring EU accession closer but instead agreed to close its doors to press and public.Committee members adopted the closed-door policy at their first session on Tuesday, suggesting that it would stop the talks being manipulated for political advantage during the upcoming …

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