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The Balkans Today
The Balkans Today: 3rd - 7th October 2016
Our team brings you live updates of the most important events and developments in the Balkans as they happen.
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Top stories from the Balkans this Monday:
- Ahead of the release of the results for Bosnia’s local elections, the two main parties representing Serbs and Bosniaks claimed major victories in the entities their communities dominate. Read more.
- Montenegro's chief negotiator with Brussels, Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic, tells BIRN that Britain’s exit from the EU will not slow the region’s own path towards membership. Read more.
- Macedonia's ruling VMRO DPMNE party has declined to answer questions about a recent media investigation, which suggested it has become one of the richest parties in Europe. Read more.
- Ahead of the release of the results for Bosnia’s local elections, the two main parties representing Serbs and Bosniaks claimed major victories in the entities their communities dominate. Read more.
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Party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov nominates woman, parliament speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, as candidate for… twitter.com/i/web/status/7…by Balkan Newsbeat via twitter 10/3/2016 7:01:24 AM -
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, vowed on Monday to file his government’s resignation if his GERB party’s presidential candidate, Tsetska Tsacheva, loses the first round of elections on November 6.Following months of speculation, Borissov finally announced GERB’s nomination for President and Vice President of Bulgaria, putting the President of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva and Plamen Manushev, MP from GERB and former Chief of Bulgaria’s Navy, respectively forward for the positions on Sunday.
Borissov with Tsetska Tsacheva and Plamen Manushev. Photo: GERB -
At Sunday’s party congress of Macedonia's opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, the party’s leader, Zoran Zaev, stated they had opted for widening the opposition front in a major alliance between left and centre parties to take on the ruling VMRO DPMNE party for the December snap polls.
"SDSM and all parties from the left and centre will form a wide front that will be in alliance with individuals and intellectuals, with the people of Macedonia," Zaev said, adding that the smaller rightist parties are going to try and unite in another opposition bloc.
Photo by: MIA -
Kosovo’s President, Hashim Thaci, told his Albanian counterpart Bujar Nishani that the controversial border agreement between Kosovo and Montenegro will be passed soon, opening the way for Kosovo citizens to benefit from the EU’s visa-free regime, during their meeting in Albania’s capital, Tirana, on Monday morning.Thaci announced the contents of their discussion in a press conference following the meeting, which kicked off his two-day visit to Albania, during which he will meet with numerous high officials in the country and visit the ‘Albanian Mother’ memorial and another to KLA commander Adem Jashari.
Thaci and Nishani today in Tirana. Photo: LSA -
Croatian students and professors from the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies, FFZG, will gather in an informal assembly called the Plenum on Monday evening to discuss if they will start blocking classes from taking place over Vlatko Previsic’s failure to step down as dean of the faculty.
The Plenum session comes after Previsic announced on Sunday that he will not resign from his post, despite the education, science and sports ministry stating on Thursday that he should do so, as under the university’s statute no dean should remain in office after the age of 70. Previsic turns 71 later this month. -
The president of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia, NUNS, Vukasin Obradovic, told BIRN on Monday that Radio Television Vojvodina, the public TV station in the Serbia's northern province, will lay off a further 111 employees.
“After the election in April when the Progressive Party took power in Vojvodina, 13 editors lost their jobs. As we [NUNS] know, a further 111 people will be laid off,” Obradovic said.
He added that this is a continuance of a government-led campaign to censor critical media, which is putting pressure on independent outlets. -
Colonel Radovan Aleksic, a former head of the counter-intelligence service of the Yugoslav Army in Montenegro during the 1990s, was arrested on Monday at the Dobrakovo border crossing in northern Montenegro when trying to enter Serbia.
Aleksic was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police inspector Predrag Sukovic, former chief of the special unit for combatting organised crime set up within Montenegro's Police Directorate, two months ago in the capital, Podgorica.
Montenegro’s Special Prosecutor's Office announced that Aleksic is a Serbian citizen and will be taken to Podgorica for questioning. -
Serbia could close its borders to migrants and refugees, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic announced on Monday.“We have to close the borders for migrants since they didn’t want to be here in Serbia and live with us,” Nikolic said, referring to the fact Serbia mostly serves as a stop on the route for refugees looking to reach Germany and other EU states.He added that he believes migrants are primarily an EU problem and should be handled by the 28-member group, but Serbia has to react to the flow of refugees using the country as a transit stop.
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American reality star Kim Kardashian may become the latest victim of the Pink Panther gang, the infamous Serbian and Montenegrin jewel thieves gang, Daily Mail reports.
The raid on Kim Kardashian's apartment in Paris on Monday has all the hallmarks of the Pink Panthers, a gang of super-criminals who have got away with tens of millions of pounds in jewels in high-profile heists since 1984, Mail Online reported.
The Pink Panther gang became infamous after a jewel heist in London's upscale Mayfair district in 1993 valued at around half a million euros.British police called the gang "The Pink Panthers" in reference to a series of 1960s movies starring the comedian Peter Sellers.
It is estimated that the robberies in cities all over the world over the last ten years netted the gangsters some 330 million euro.
Kim Kardashian. Photo: Wikimedia/David Shankbone -
Andrej Plenkovic, president of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, has confirmed that negotiations with the centre-right Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, will continue on Monday.
Plenkovic rejected claims by television network N1 that Monday’s talks between HDZ and MOST are “D-Day” in the negotiations process, instead stating that the two parties will reach agreement on forming the new government by October 14 in time for the first session of parliament.
Andrej Plenkovic. Photo: BETAPHOTO/HINA/DARIO GRZELJ/EV/MO -
Five Macedonian citizens – four men and one woman - who were accused of spreading jihadist propaganda, were extradited today from Italy to Macedonia.
Italy's interior minister, Angelino Alfano, who signed the extradition order, told media that authorities had been following the group's activities for two years and that their extradition is a measure of caution against terrorism. -
With 55 in favour, two against and five abstentions, the Zagreb University’s Senate decided to suspend Vlatko Previsic, the dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies, FFZG, on Monday.
Previsic said on Sunday that he refuses to step down despite the education, science and sports ministry stating on Thursday that he should do so, as under the university’s statute no dean should remain in office after the age of 70. Previsic turns 71 later this month.
The faculty’s students have been demanding Previsic step down for months after he controversially attempted to merge studies between the FFZG and Catholic Theological Faculty in Zagreb. -
Top stories from the Balkans this Tuesday:
- Two months ahead of the general elections in Macedonia, the opposition has dismissed the ruling party's list of campaign pledges - which include hefty pension rises and hundreds of new kindergartens - as fairytales. Read more.
- The speaker of parliament and leader of Albania’s third-largest party previously served as prime minister aged just 30, but Meta’s rapid political ascent has been marred by controversy. Read more.
- The journalist who has received various death treats since being labelled an enemy spy and a foreign mercenary by Serbia's pro-government tabloids is in no mood to back down. Read more.
- Two months ahead of the general elections in Macedonia, the opposition has dismissed the ruling party's list of campaign pledges - which include hefty pension rises and hundreds of new kindergartens - as fairytales. Read more.
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The Kosovo President, Hashim Thaci while was visiting this morning in Tirana the memorial of the KLA fighter, Adem Jashari faced a protest of dozen of young people with placard condemning his support for the demarcation agreement with Montenegro.The placards considered him a traitor while in some of them were written nationalist sayings like "Kosovo is Albania".Vetevendosje activists in Tirana are believed to be behind the protests while up to now there is not a de. Two Vetevendosje leaders, Albin Kurti and Visar Ymeri, while held a meeting in Tirana in September, considered the deal with Montenegro wrong that let down the best interests of Albanians.
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Hundreds of refugees have embarked on a walk from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to the Hungarian border on Tuesday morning, calling for the borders to be opened, Reuters reported.The refugees, all appearing to be male aged 15 and over, are holding signs, one of which reads "We are people, not animals", according to Reuters.The walk comes after Hungary’s anti-migrant referendum on Sunday in which 98 per cent of those who took part voted against the country accepting its allocated share of migrants. However, with a voter turnout of only 40.4 per cent, the poll is rendered invalid.The number of refugees in the transit zone between Serbia and Hungary rose in mid-July after Hungary tightened its border controls. Since then, it has only let in 15 refugees a day from Serbia.
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Bulgaria’s arms production and exports have grown by 60 per cent over the past two years, the Bulgarian Minister of Economy Bozhidar Lukarski announced on Tuesday, quoted by Focus Agency.He explained the significant growth as the result of the active marketing strategies of Bulgaria’s arms sector, as well as the broadening of the circle of potential buyers, activating traditional partnerships and the production of new competitive products in the field of defence.
Bozhidar Lukarski. Photo: Ministry of Economy of Bulgaria -
Hilton Hotels & Resorts has officially opened its Hilton Podgorica Crna Gora, marking Hilton's debut in Montenegro, the country's government said on Tuesday.
The opening of this elite hotel is expected to help Montenegro achieve the status of a prestigious European tourist destination, the government said in a statement quoting prime minister Milo Djukanovic.
"Montenegro, one of the oldest European states and often referred to as the pearl of the Mediterranean, is an exciting new destination for Hilton as we expand our global portfolio of more than 570 hotels," Andreas Lackner, regional head of the Hilton brand management, said last month, SeeNews reported. -
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#Romania has ratified the Protocol on the Accession of #Montenegro to #NATO. Thank you! http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ct7Kfr3WYAEMEr4.jpg
by MeGovernment via twitter 10/4/2016 1:03:41 PM -
Two well-known Albanian jazz singers - Eda Zari and Elina Duni – will hold two concerts in Albania at the end of this month to raise awareness for the ongoing campaign by environmentalists and activists trying to stop the planned construction of hydropower plants on the Valbona river and its tribunaries in the ‘Albanian Alps’.The first concert will take place on October 29 in Valbona, with a second the following evening in the capital, Tirana.Meanwhile, thousands of people have so far signed an online petition to stop the construction of the plants in the Valbona region, which is a popular tourist destination.
Jazz singer, Elina Duni. Photo: Facebook -
Kosovo’s Special Prosecutor has decided to expand an investigation initially opened against Adem Grabovcit, and MP of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, DPK, over leaked wiretaps of conversations between him and some of his associates that allegedly show he influenced public-sector appointments.The investigation will now also include Besim Beqaj, the former economy minister, PDK MP Zenun Pajaziti, Fatmir Shurdhaj, the vice labour and social welfare minister, former chairman of the Prizren municipality Njazi Kryeziu, a former official dealing with pharmacy issues at the health ministry, Arbenita Pajaziti, the former general secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ilhami Gashi, and Sedat Gashi, political adviser in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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Early steps are being made in Bosnia and Herzegovina to ban smoking in certain indoor public places, and in cars in which minors are traveling.A draft law was introduced today with a view to prohibit smoking in indoor workplaces, public transport, public meetings, and cars with passengers under the age of 18.It was put forward by a working group in consultation with the World Bank, according to local news site Klix.ba.The proposed legislation would also ban sales of tobacco products within 100 metres of educational institutions and place limits on advertising.Research by the World Bank in 2012 found that nearly half Bosnia's adult population are smokers.
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Top stories from the Balkans this Wednesday:
- Prince Leka, the grandson of King Zog, will get married this weekend in Tirana in the country’s second-ever royal wedding, which royalists hope will revive the legacy of the Albanian monarchy. Read more.
- The UN Security Council is set for another round of voting for the next Secretary-General, as diplomats hope to avoid showdowns and choose Ban Ki-moon's successor by the end of the month. Read more.
- Amid Macedonia’s ongoing political crisis, the ethnic Albanian opposition sees a chance to win advantage by joining forces for December’s elections - but is wary of any coalition with ethnic Macedonian parties. Read more.
- Prince Leka, the grandson of King Zog, will get married this weekend in Tirana in the country’s second-ever royal wedding, which royalists hope will revive the legacy of the Albanian monarchy. Read more.
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The first metre of an undersea power cable, to link Montenegro and Italy, has been laid on the Montenegrin side of the Adriatic, the government in Podgorica said on Tuesday.
Italian electricity transmission system operator Terna and Montenegro's majority state-owned power transmission system operator Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem have begun the construction of the link in the municipality of Budva.
The Italian side has already installed 136km of the energy cable, which maximum length between Pescara in Italy and Cape Jaz is 455km. The total planned length of the electricity is 455km.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said this project will contribute not only to a greater openness of the country's power system, but also the economy as a whole.
"It is a confirmation that the optimum use of available resources is the most important condition of dynamic economic development, which will be easier achieved through the integration into the European single market in all sectors, including energy," he said.
Photo: gov.me.
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The International Monetary Fund, IMF, said on Tuesday it expects Montenegro’s economy to expand by a real 5.1 per cent in 2016, up from its April forecast of 4.7 per cent growth, SeeNews reports.
The IMF expects the country’s economy to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2017, an increase compared to the previous projection of 2.5 per cent growth, according to data from the autumn edition of the IMF's World Economic Outlook report. -
Macedonia’s opposition is submitting fresh bills today aimed at improving witness protection and boosting the Special Prosecution, SJO, which tackles high-level crime, after the parliament failed to pass similar legal changes on Tuesday after the ruling VMRO DPMNE voted against them and many MPs were absent from the plenary session.Meanwhile, the US embassy in Macedonia called the SJO’s demands for better witness protection and for prolonging its deadline for investigating corruption "reasonable requests" in a press statement released on Tuesday evening.The statement also said that "establishing accountability for the unauthorized wiretaps and allegations of government abuse is essential to bring Macedonia out of its prolonged crisis."
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A record number of candidates will run in the presidential elections in Bulgaria on November 6, the Central Electoral Commission, announced on Wednesday.
Twenty-three pairs of candidates for the posts of President and Vice-President had been registered by the time the deadline to do so expired at 5pm on Tuesday.
Prior to this election, the highest number of presidential candidates was registered in 2011, when 18 pairs ran in the vote. -
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Confusion and tensions reign on Wednesday in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica after Sunday's local elections, as the race between the Bosniak and Serb candidates for the position of Srebrenica's mayor remains deadlocked and marred by irregularities.After the counting process encountered serious problems, special police in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska entered the premises of the local election commission on Wednesday, and is overseeing the recount.If the Serb candidate, Mladen Grujicic, is elected, it will be the first time a Serb has been mayor of Srebrenica since more more than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were massacred there by Serb forces in 1995.
Mladen Grujicic. | Photo: Anadolu. -
Brussels has given Serbia until the end of the week to make a decision on whether to accept a telecomunications agreement with Kosovo which would give it access to the Telekom Srbija system, the Director of the Serbian Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said on Wednesday.The deadline was given during Belgrade-Pristina talks in Brussels on Serbia’s failure to reach an agreement with Kosovo over telecommunications, which is preventing Kosovo from getting an international dialing code.“They [Brussels and Pristina] ask from us to renounce our property when it comes to telecommunication and even worse, to give up of all of our property in Kosovo and pass it to self-proclaimed, illegal, false state in Pristina,” said Djuric.
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Croatian centre-right party Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, will not give the position of parliament chair to their potential senior government partner, the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, according to a MOST source quoted by Croatian news site Index.
The source said that MOST would rather give up one of the ministries offered by HDZ than relinquish the position of parliament chair as it would give HDZ too much power.
HDZ president Andrej Plenkovic said that an agreement on the formation of Croatia’s next government will be reached by tomorrow and that he will have the support to be named prime minister-designate on Monday. -
The regional prosecution in the southern Bulgarian town of Malko Tarnovo has filed an indictment against Petar Nizamov, who gained international notoriety as a vigilante ‘migrant hunter’ after he published a video of three Afghan men he had captured and tied up near Bulgaria’s border with Turkey.Nizamov has been charged with illegally depriving the captured Afghan men of their liberty.The indictment says he had threatened them with a gas pistol and a machete, as well as searched them for money and mobile phones.
Petar Nizamov. Photo: BIRN -
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The surprisingly abrupt end to the #NextSG race, complete with rare UNSC group portrait. My early take theguardian.com/world/2016/oct…by julianborger via twitter 10/5/2016 5:14:46 PM -
Top stories from the Balkans this Thursday:
- Two weeks to go before parliamentary elections in Montenegro, the Interior Minister has refused to authorise the electoral roll, which will place a question mark over the election's legitimacy. Read more.
- Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, says the EU is likely to slow accession talks with the Balkan countries in the context of ‘huge resistance’ to enlargement. Read more.
- Experts and parents in Croatia are split on whether the powerful Catholic Church should have a role in the nation’s pre-schools. Read more.
- Two weeks to go before parliamentary elections in Montenegro, the Interior Minister has refused to authorise the electoral roll, which will place a question mark over the election's legitimacy. Read more.
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by Fatjona Mejdini via twitter 10/6/2016 8:53:10 AM -
The new EU Border and Coast Guard agency, tasked with helping manage the ongoing migrant crisis and reinforcing security on the EU’s external border, will be launched in Bulgaria today.The EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will officially launch the European project at the Bulgarian-Turkish border this morning which will be followed by a press conference.The agency will be staffed by personnel from Bulgaria and other EU states, and with this project, Bulgaria will not only start playing an greater role in the protection of its own borders, but also in securing the external border of the EU, Avramopoulos said in September.
EU Border and Coast Guard personnel. Photo: BIRN/Mariya Cheresheva -
Centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, offered to give centre-right Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, the position of chair of the parliament for the first two years of their potential term, while HDZ will take it over for the second two, daily newspaper Vecernji list reported an anonymous source saying.
According to the same source, MOST has agreed upon the idea, which is yet to be confirmed by their party assembly this afternoon.
HDZ president Andrej Plenkovic wants to reach an agreement with MOST by Friday, so he could be named prime minister-designate on Monday in the second round of consultations held by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.
MOST-HDZ talks. Photo: BETAPHOTO/HINA/Denis CERIC/DS -
Bosnia's Central Election Commission will collect election materials from Srebrenica and count it in Sarajevo on Saturday in the presence of observers.Who has won the race for mayor has not yet been confirmed in the eastern town as demands were made for recounts this week amid allegations of irregularities.
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Ben Blushi, who quit as an MP in Albania’s ruling party last Thursday and who has long been a critic of its leader, Prime Minister Edi Rama, is creating a new political party, Albanian daily Panorama reported today.Another Socialist MP, Mimoza Hafizi, also confirmed to Panorama on Thursday that she has left the party, with the daily suspecting she is going to join Blushi Blushi party.
Blushi and Hafizi during a Parliamentary session. Photo: LSA/Malton Dibra -
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik met with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic this afternoon in Belgrade at 1.30pm, reports news agency Tanjug.
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Belgrade and Pristina have agreed on the terms of a telecommunications agreement under which Kosovo will get its own dial code, European Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said on Thursday.Under the deal, Serbia’s state telecoms company, Telekom Srbija, is permitted to operate right across Kosovo and gets temporary jurisdiction of the existing mobile network in the country.Earlier this week, Serbia accused the EU and Kosovo of giving it an ultimatum that it had until Sunday to reach an agreement on the telecommunications deal, which the head of Serbia's office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, claimed is being used by Pristina as a way to get access to the Telekom Srbija system in order to tap Serbian citizens’ phone lines.
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Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, said on Thursday that he does not see a reason to resign, after the Vice-President of the European Commission, Kristalina Georgieva, failed to attract the expected support in the UN Security Council’s sixth and last informal round of voting for the next Secretary-General.Georgieva was nominated by Borissov’s government to replace UNESCO director Irina Bokova after she stumbled in the race for the UN top job.Left-wing parties, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (which left the governing coalition in May) and ethnic Turk Movements for Rights and Freedoms, demanded Borissov’s resignation following the vote for latest straw poll, won by Portugal’s Antonio Guterres.“She (Bokova) demonstrated arrogance and did not give up, went and blocked Ms Georgieva,” Borissov told journalists, adding that nominating Georgieva in the last moment was not a failure of the government.
Boyko Borissov. Photo: GERB -
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on Thursday rejected a suit from Croatian 1990s wartime general Branimir Glavas against the Croatian state.
Glavas filed the lawsuit back in 2014, complaining about the length of the proceedings at the Croatian Constitutional Court, which lasted between September 2010 and January 2015 and ending in the quashing of a previous final judgement convicting him of war crimes against Serb civilians in the eastern city of Osijek.
But Croatia’s office at the European court explained that Glavas misused his right to a lawsuit before the Strasbourg court since he revealed to the media the details of a settlement he came to with Croatia, which is confidential according to court rules. There is no right to an appeal against the decision.
Branimir Glavas. Photo: Beta -
The state attorney’s office, DORH, in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar is investigating if any criminal activity took place regarding how the Catholic initiative "40 Days for Life" obtained personal information on a woman going into hospital to have an abortion.
Croatian media reported on Wednesday that the initiative, which organises prayer vigils, wrote on Facebook that a woman was coming to Vukovar hospital to have an abortion, calling anti-abortion activists to go to go to the medical centre for a public prayer.
The Facebook post raised suspicions that someone had revealed confidential information from woman's medical file, prompting the hospital’s director, Vesna Bosanac, to announce that an internal investigation will be conducted.
Catholic prayers in front of the Vukovar hospital. Photo: Facebook/40 dana za zivot -
Top stories from the Balkans this Friday:
- Kosovo’s parliament is due to start a debate on the draft law on the Trepca coalmine amid controversy over the exact plans and protests by Serbia and Kosovo Serbs. Read more.
- Macedonia's authorities are having a hard time finding workplaces for 1,750 or so ethnic minority civil servants who have been employed in line with the 2001 peace accord but who linger on the state payroll at home. Read more.
- Locals say Belgrade city authorities have failed to tackle illegal tyre-burning despite protests and health concerns. Read more.
- Kosovo’s parliament is due to start a debate on the draft law on the Trepca coalmine amid controversy over the exact plans and protests by Serbia and Kosovo Serbs. Read more.
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Canada will start gradually removing visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens from May 2017, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau agreed in a conversation over the phone on Thursday, Bulgaria’s government announced.First the Canadian visas will be lifted for Bulgarians who possess US visas, for business people and those who have already visited Canada.Trudeau also announced that the visa requirements will fall for all Bulgarians by the end of 2017, unless technical problems occur, which could extend the deadline to May 1, 2018, at the latest.
Photo: Gary Fuss/Flickr -
World Update, Marubi photographs: A portrait of Albania https://t.co/zgmFw7U6VV1:53 PM - 07 Oct 2016
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According to news website Klix.ba, the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, will hold a meeting Saturday to discuss what or who was to blame for its losses in municipal elections last Sunday.President of the SDS Mladen Bosic said after poll results came in that the party's poor performance was unexpected, and has suggested he may resign.A session of the main board of the party will therefore be held to analyse what happened.
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Albanian environmentalists opposing the controversial draft law on waste import met with Albania’s President, Bujar Nishani, on Friday morning to present their concerns and urge him not to enact it.In the meeting, Nishani guaranteed the environmentalists that he would act in the best interests of Albania’s citizens, and promised that the controversial law, which was adopted by MPs on September 22, would be thoroughly examined before it is decreed.If President Nishani chooses to return the draft law to parliament, at least 71 of the total of 140 votes in parliament will be needed for the draft to become law, which is seen as unlikely.
President during the meeting with Albanian environmentalists. Photo: president.al -
Hundreds of Kosovo Serbs are protesting in the north Kosovo town of Zvecan, demanding Kosovo withdraws from the draft law on Trepca mine from parliament where it is due to be debated.The protesters claim that by adopting the law, Kosovo would take over Serbian property and endanger the ethnic structure of the population in the country’s north, which is currently predominantly Serb.The mine complex, which was once Kosovo’s most profitable conglomerate during the Yugoslav period, is split along ethnic lines. The northern part of the complex employs workers from the Serb-majority north of Kosovo, and is run by Belgrade.
Kosovo Serbs protesting in Zvecan. | Photo: Anadolu 
Kosovo Serbs protesting in Zvecan. | Photo: Anadolu -
#EULEXKosovo Head of Mission Mrs Alexandra Papadopoulou met today the Grand Mufti Naim Ternava http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuKbAm_WEAAUx_H.jpg
by EULEX Kosovo via twitter 10/7/2016 2:05:14 PM -
Ambassador Braathu in introductory meeting with #KFOR Commander Fungo. Excellent co-operation and shared commitment… twitter.com/i/web/status/7…by OSCE Kosovo Mission via twitter 10/7/2016 2:05:57 PM -
by GazetaExpressEnglish via twitter 10/7/2016 2:06:17 PM -
53rd #OplenacGrapeHarvest this #weekend in #Topola #Serbia | 53. #ОпленачкаБерба овог викенда у #Топола |… twitter.com/i/web/status/7…by Meet the Serbs via twitter 10/7/2016 2:06:41 PM -
EC intervenes in Kosovo and Serbia dispute over telecoms infrastructure: The European Fee has intervened in a... bit.ly/2dXv2p2by VoIP Directory via twitter 10/7/2016 2:07:19 PM -
Croatia’s President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic will meet with Andrej Plenkovic, the president of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, at noon on Monday and give him the mandate to form a new government, the office of the Croatian President confirmed for Croatian news agency Hina on Friday.
The office stated that the second round of presidential consultations, which was due to include all parliamentary parties and individual MPs, is therefore cancelled as Plenkovic assured Grabar Kitarovic in a phone call that he has the support of more than 76 MPs, the minimum for getting the mandate.
Andrej Plenkovic (middle) and Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic (right). Photo: BETAPHOTO/HINA/Lana SLIVAR DOMINIC/MO -
In Sarajevo, Bosnia, as part of the international theatre festival MESS, a performance called 48 Hours of Awakeness takes place today and tomorrow in Java gallery on Titova.The concept is that over a full 48 hours, public readings are made from hundreds of pages of the personal stories of refugees both from history and the present day.It is being livestreamed.
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Bulgaria’s top tennis player Grigor Dimitrov scored his first ever win against Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final of the China Open on Friday.Dimitrov defeated Nadal after eight previous attempts with an impressive 6-2 6-4 performance, ATP reported.In Dimitrov’s next match he’ll come up against Canada’s Milos Raonic.
Grigor Dimitrov. Photo: www.grigor-dimitrov.com -
The Bulgaria border police have found 65 migrants hidden in a cargo train at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkey early on Monday.The police authorities said they are still working on identifying the migrants, who most probably entered the train by cutting the ground cloth of the cargo department.
Photo: Bulgarian State Railways
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