Balkan News

The Serbian Orthodox Church’s plan to hold a mass for the killed leader of the World War II Chetnik movement, Draza Mihailovic, has been called a “provocation” by the Montenegrin authorities.

Greek businessmen allied to Russia are paying troublemakers to stir up violence in the run-up to the crucial 'name' referendum, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has said in an interview.

Former Bosnian Serb reservist policemen Milorad Obradovic will stand trial for involvement in killings, torture and other crimes against Bosniak civilians in the Prijedor area in 1992.

As Skopje prepares to mark 55 years since the 1963 earthquake, the authorities are to replace former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito’s stirring message of solidarity – which vanished in 2001.

Belgrade journalist Marija Ratkovic has turned her fight against cervical cancer into a film, hoping to promote prevention and reproductive health by word of mouth.

Kosovo's biggest annual cultural event is bringing over 250 films to the city of Prizren – where organisers say the theme of 'Reflection' points to an aim to 'reflect the world we live in today'.

Moscow is not intrinsically interested in the Balkans – but in using the Balkans as leverage with the EU and the US, Mark Galeotti tells BIRN in an interview.

The recent EU-Western Balkans summit in London failed to back the establishment of a regional truth-seeking committee - another missed opportunity for Europe to help tackle widespread impunity for past crimes.

Croatia’s football team failed to cross the final threshold on the road to victory and become the surprise champion of world football.

Thousands of Macedonians celebrated on Saturday night after NATO invited Macedonia to start accession talks and become the Western alliance’s 30th member.

A prestigious new exhibition forces a fresh look at the underappreciated architecture of Tito’s Yugoslavia.

The acquittal verdict in the mutiny trial of Serbian security service Special Operations Unit officers, who also assassinated Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, all but ends the possibility that the political background to these two interconnected crimes will be exposed.

Belgrade Higher Court acquitted seven members of the Serbian security service’s now-disbanded Special Operations Unit of involvement in a rebellion against the government of Zoran Djindjic in 2001.

The former commander of the Bosnian Army’s Zulfikar Squad, Nihad Bojadzic, was convicted of rape and other crimes against Croat civilians and prisoners of war in Jablanica in 1993.

The Romanian Defence Ministry has grounded its remaining old MiG jets after a recent plane crash near Constanta resulted in the death of the 36-year-old pilot,Florin Rotaru.

Indebted Croatian Swiss franc borrowers and the Franak Association, which represented them, are hailing their final 'David vs Goliath' court victory over the banks.

Eurogroup finance ministers and the ECB on Thursday welcomed Bulgaria’s readiness to join the Banking Union, so entering the eurozone 'waiting room' – but have postponed a final decision for at least a year.

With low expectations, few substantive items on the agenda – and with a distracted and unengaged host country – most participants at the Western Balkan summit felt they left empty-handed.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has been criticised for meeting a controversial figure in the Serb-run northern municipalities, Milan Radoicic.

If the Hague-based Specialist Chambers are to aid reconciliation and not cause unrest, the Pristina government must convince a sceptical public why it’s necessary to try Kosovo Liberation Army ex-fighters for wartime and post-war crimes.