Balkan News

Serbian nationalist Vojislav Seselj has vowed to return to the village of Hrtkovci to hold a rally on the anniversary of a speech that got him convicted of crimes against humanity - but if he arrives, would he be welcome?

Thousands of so-called Yugo-nostalgics are expected to spend International Workers’ Day, marked on May 1, at Mini-Yugoslavia, a theme park in northern Serbia dedicated to preserving the memory of the former Socialist federation.

After six months in office, Skopje’s new mayor is determined to send the city’s galleons sailing into history, restore some of the old facades destroyed during the Skopje 2014 revamp – and cut other expenses.

Bosniaks held protests in several towns across the country to support Atif Dudakovic, former commander of the Bosnian Army’s Fifth Corps, who was arrested last week on suspicion of war crimes.

Serb organisations in Montenegro, which joined NATO last year, are marking the 19th anniversary of the Western alliance’s bombing of the village of Murino, which killed six people including children.

Eight Romanian soldiers were among the wounded in a terror attack that killed 11 children in southern Afghanistan, targeting a NATO convoy. 

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj tells El Pais that Kosovo will never recognise the independence of Catalonia – once again insisting that the cases of Kosovo and Catalonia have nothing in common.

As the number of tourists interested in visiting Kosovo increases, NGOs working in the sector say the state needs to develop proper policies to attract more visitors in future.

Bosnian reporters plan to set up a journalism network dedicated to Srdjan Aleksic, a Bosnian Serb who died saving his Bosniak friend’s life during wartime in 1993, in a bid to promote social responsibility in the media.

After years of striving to get to the top, Moldova’s pro-Russian president hopes to win full power after parliamentary elections due in November.

Other powers will surely benefit from the growing polarisation between Croatia and Serbia in the region.

As Kosovo commemorated its Missing Persons Week, families of people whose bodies have not been found since the war called for memorials to be built at mass graves of victims in Serbia.

Daily street protests over the unexplained death of a young man have become a headache for the Republika Srpska authorities in the run-up to elections.

The war crimes arrest of Bosnian Army Fifth Corps ex-commander Atif Dudakovic was criticised by some Bosniak politicians but welcomed by Serbs, again highlighting the country’s ethnic divisions.

Romania’s centre-right president Klaus Iohannis has publicly called on Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to resign, saying that she is 'unfit for the post'.

A ruling of Bulgaria's High Administrative Court has cheered environmental campaigners seeking stronger protection for the Pirin National Park against alleged threats of development.

The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, GRETA, has criticized Hungary for its treatment of migrants.

Atif Dudakovic, former commander of the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army, was arrested on suspicion of war crimes against Serbs and Bosniaks in 1994 and 1995.

After another attempt to resolve the impasse over local elections in Mostar failed, the Bosnian city faces an indefinite wait for a new municipal council.

Kosovo's Football Federation has expressed a willingness to work on integrating Serbian community clubs within its leagues, but says political pressure by Belgrade is deterring young Serbs from official football activities