February, 2009

• 23 February

  Macedonia Party Blames Govt for ‘Political Trials’

  Macedonia’s Democratic Party of Albanians, whose activists were blamed for violence and fraud at last June’s general election, has accused the government of targetting its members for selective punishment, while ignoring the actions of their rival, the Democratic Union for Integration. TheWest wants Macedonia to punish the perpetrators of the …

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• 23 February

  Albanian Escapes Greek Jail In Chopper, Again

  An Albanian convict and the Greek ringleader of his gang escaped from an Athens high security prison using a helicopter for the second time in three years, one day before they were due to appear in court. In a prison break worthy of a Hollywood action movie, Alket Rizai and …

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• 23 February

  Bosnia Anthem Gets Lyrics After 10 Years

  After near 10 years of interethnic deliberations, a commission has agreed on the text of Bosnia’s national anthem. The melody of the Bosnian national anthem was adopted in June 1999, but politicians were unable to agree over its text. The new anthem, with both melody and lyrics, was performed for …

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• 23 February

  14 Taliban militants slain in Afghanistan

  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A battle just outside southern Afghanistan’s largest city has killed at least six Taliban fighters, while an airstrike against militants elsewhere in the south killed eight, officials said Sunday. A battle in the Panjwayi district — 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Kandahar city — began late …

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• 22 February

  Growing Public Hostility to Troops May Hurt U.S. Surge Plans in Afghanistan

  KABUL, Feb. 21 — The additional 17,000 troops the Obama administration is preparing to send to Afghanistan will face both an aggressive, well-armed Taliban insurgency and an unarmed but equally daunting foe: public opinion. In more than a dozen interviews across the capital this week, Afghans said that instead of …

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• 21 February

  Macedonia PM Slams Greece, Athens Rebuffs

  Greece decided to block Macedonia’s NATO accession a year before the April 2008 Bucharest summit but kept its intentions secret, Macedonia PM Nikola Gruevski said on Friday, adding fuel to the fire sparked by reports of a controversial statement by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis. Athens has denied the statement …

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• 21 February

  New Status Conference In Karadzic Case

  “Due to the fact that the Defence team has not been formed”, Radovan Karadzic said he cannot respond to the Hague Prosecution’s proposal to reinstate the Susica incident into the indictment. At a status conference the Hague Tribunal Chamber ordered Radovan Karadzic to respond to the Hague Prosecution’s motion requesting …

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• 21 February

  Russia Won’t Recognise Kosovo- Lavrov

  Russia will not recognise Kosovo as an independent and sovereign country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday, in response to statements by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci that the Kremlin would eventually accept Kosovo’s secession from Serbia and recognise it as independent. “Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci mistakes …

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• 21 February

  Bosnia Fraud Probe Triggers Political Clashes

  Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, has pressed charges for fraud and misuse of public funds against the Premier of the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik and several other Bosnian Serb senior officials. The move, apparently done outside the usual legal channels and standard criminal procedures, …

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• 21 February

  Serbia Closer To Mladic, Hadzic – Prosecutor

  Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic says Belgrade authorities are closing in on Hague war crime fugitives Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic each day, while especially Mladic’s arrest could come this year. In an interview with Serbian daily Danas, Vukcevic said authorities were checking every bit of information that came …

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