Balkan News

A delegation from the region controversially annexed by Russia is visiting Serbia and urging businesses to invest despite EU sanctions.

  Wie lang diese sogenannten Diplomaten diesmal wohl bereits zusehen, diesem munterem Mafiösen Treiben? Serbien  Visa-Termine gegen Bargeld So einen Ansturm gab es seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr: Tausende Serben wollen nach Deutschland auswandern. Doch im Konsulat einen Termin zu bekommen, ist eine Herkulesaufgabe – und so kommen Zwischenhändler ins Spiel. Für Biljana Žarković ist Rostock ein Traum. Ein Job in der dortigen Klinik wartet auf die arbeitslose Krankenschwester aus der südserbischen Stadt Niš. Žarković, die ihren echten Namen nicht veröffentlicht sehen möchte, ordnete auf ihrem Tisch darum alles, was man für ein Arbeitsvisum so braucht: der Arbeits-Vertrag, das Zertifikat über ihre Deutsch-Kenntnisse, Passfotos… Es fehlt nur noch eine Kleinigkeit: ein […]

In an interview with BIRN, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci backs the controversial new war crimes court - and says Albanian leaders have every right to speak out on the subject of Kosovo.

The Serbian royal family is inviting guests from home and abroad – reportedly including British royalty – to attend the 'traditional Serbian' wedding this month of one of the late King Alexander's grandsons.

Bulgarian right-wingers plan 'peaceful' protests against refugees and migrants for Friday night in the cities of Sofia, Burgas, Yambol and Varna. 

Dramatic claims by the Montenegrin special prosecutor - that 'unprecedented' bloodshed was only narrowly averted on election day - have failed to resolve doubts about an alleged coup plot.

As Bosnian authorities arrest people involved in a controversial documentary on alleged arms trading, the Italian journalist accused of 'staging' the footage has dismissed the accusations.

Three former Serbian state security officers have been acquitted of the attempted murder in 2000 of the then opposition party leader Vuk Draskovic during Slobodan Milosevic’s rule.

The newly elected chief judge of Macedonia’s Constitutional Court is unlikely to restore the image of an institution now widely seen as a tool of the political establishment.

By continuing to bet on Milo Djukanović, the West and the EU risk falling into the ‘stability-versus-democracy’ trap - and discrediting the values they say they wish to uphold.

After its recent local election debacle, the main opposition party in Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska is trying to consolidate, but the process is burdened by internal power struggles and divisions.

Secular campaigners plan rally demanding end to deals with Vatican which they say are too expensive and undermine secular values.

Controversial retired Serbian general Bratislav Dikic is at the centre of a mass of conflicting theories over the background - and reality - of the alleged coup attempt in Montenegro.

  20 Oct 16 Albanian Asylum-Seeker Numbers in Germany Rise Again More Albanians are again seeking aslyum in Germany, a year after Berlin listed Albania as a ’safe country of origin‘, though overall numbers have fallen since 2015. Fatjona Mejdini, Vincent Triest BIRN Tirana A refugees camp in Germany. Photo: BIRN The number of Albanians requesting asylum spiked once again in September, after numbers fell in the first part of 2016. A year exactly after Berlin acted to curb the numbers, by declaring Albania a safe country, the phenomenon of thousands people seeking asylum each month has started to emerge again. According to the EU statistics agency Eurostat, in September 2016, the […]

Macedonia's Special Prosecution has launched two investigations into alleged abuses of office at the culture and transport ministries, which it said cost the state budget two million euros.

Police arrested former Bosnian Serb Army serviceman Zarko Vukovic on suspicion that he committed crimes against humanity against Bosniak civilians in Foca in 1992.

17 Oct 16 Mafia-style Killing Reveals Serbian Sport’s Sinister Side The latest assassination of another football supporters’ group boss has again underscored the close association between sport, politics and crime in Serbia. Slobodan Georgiev BIRN Belgrade Partizan’s basketball players came out onto the court wearing T-shirts bearing Stankovic’s picture before the game against Slovenian club KK Olimpija on October 16. Photo: Beta In the Balkans, we are used to mafia-like shootings in the streets, gang wars with lot of blood – and no proper reaction from the police. Last Thursday, October 14, Aleksandar Stankovic, nicknamed “Sale ‘The Mute,’” was killed by two assassins after he finished his gym training for […]

More than 1,000 women in Bosnia and Herzegovina who suffered sexual violence during the 1990s conflict cannot become mothers because of serious psychological traumas and the medical consequences of being raped.

On the anniversary of his death in 2003, the Turkish President praised independent Bosnia's first president, Alija Izetbegovic, for protecting the ‘most important Islamic community’ in Europe.

Interior Minister says after police officials prevented the Special Prosecution from obtaining access to evidence of secret police wiretapping, the standoff had been resolved - although the Prosecution has yet to confirm this.