Balkan News

Much of the region is holding its breath ahead of Macedonia’s make-or-break referendum on the name deal with Greece which could lay a long-running dispute to eternal rest. Meanwhile, in the rest of the region, there is little sign of disputes, small or large, being resolved. 

Kosovo police arrested MP Shkumbin Demaliaj for allegedly intimidating prosecutor Elez Blakaj, who resigned after saying he received threats while investigating fraud in the verification of Kosovo Liberation Army war veterans.

The private equity firm BC Partners has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in United Group, the largest alternative pay-TV company in former Yugoslavia.

Theodor Meron, the presiding judge in Radovan Karadzic’s appeal against genocide and war crimes convictions, removed himself from the case after the former Bosnian Serb political leader’s defence accused him of bias.

As the rhythm and music of 1920s Harlem becomes more popular across the Balkans, a special festival celebrating it is taking place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, this weekend.

The President of the Republika Srpska has accused the US and British embassies of blatant interference in the forthcoming elections in Bosnia – which both embassies have denied.

After an investigative reporter, Dimitar Varbanov, was attacked by the subjects of his investigation, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in New York has called the assault 'intolerable' and demanded a speedy probe.

Belgrade is hosting an exhibition on the 1992-96 siege of Sarajevo which uses personal possessions and photographs to tell a story about how Bosnian capital’s residents lived through the war.

The recent meeting in Bucharest heard ambitious talk about joint energy and infrastructure initiatives – but whether these costly plans materialise is another matter, analysts warn. 

A Bosnia-based company is under investigation in Switzerland for alleged money-laundering and other illicit enterprises.

After years on trial for war crimes, Croatian MP Branimir Glavas has continued to benefit from convenient circumstances that have kept him out of jail and maintained his status as a political player.

Serbia's authorities have not commented on a claim by a US official that Belgrade is ready to deploy peacekeepers in conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine.

Experts say that if the September 30 referendum in Macedonia fails, the country can say goodbye to any immediate hopes of joining the EU and NATO.

Following a row over the proposed sale of the energy company CEZ to a small family group, Bulgarian MPs have given the country's energy and water regulatory commission the last say in such deals.

As winter looms, the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, has urged Bosnia to resolve the housing issues of some 300 migrants and refugees camping in the open, or in tents.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic asked the UN court in The Hague to exclude judge Theodor Meron from his appeal procedure due to alleged bias, after he was removed from Ratko Mladic’s trial.

Kosovo Liberation Army ex-fighters protested in Pristina, telling the prosecution to withdraw an indictment that alleges there are thousands of fake war veterans, or face potentially violent protests.

A Bosnian Serb ex-soldier told a Belgrade court how he helped to conceal the bodies of several hundred Bosniaks from Srebrenica after a night-long mass execution in a hangar in the village of Kravica in 1995.

Moldovan authorities could expel another 48 Turkish residents who are on a Turkish regime 'blacklist', the head of Amnesty International Moldova has warned.

The Croatian public broadcaster, HRT, was condemned by journalists’ associations after sacking an editor who was critical towards its management, which has allegedly been implementing a right-wing agenda.