Ex-Croatian prime minister pleads 'not guilty' in corruption trial

deutsche welle
CRIME

10.11.2011
Croatia's former prime minister has denied accepting bribes from a Hungarian oil company as his corruption trial resumed in Zagreb. Sanader already stands accused of receiving bribes from an Austrian bank.

Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader pleaded not guilty to further corruption charges on Thursday as his trial continued in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

Sanader said he denied "categorically and with indignation" accepting a bribe worth 10 million euros ($13.63 million) from the Hungarian oil company MOL. The latest charges were added to an existing corruption case against the 58-year-old which began last week....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15523316,00.html

Alleged Muslim extremist opens fire on US Embassy in Bosnia

deutsche welle
TERRORISM

28.10.2011
A man has opened fire on the US Embassy in Bosnia, injuring at least one Bosnian police officer. Officials have labeled the shooting a "terrorist attack" and have blamed it on a Muslim extremist.

A man opened fire outside the US embassy in Bosnia on Friday in what authorities have labeled an act of terrorism.

At least one police officer was injured in the attack in the capital, Sarajevo, which after a 30-minute standoff with police ended with the gunman being shot. He was arrested with wounds and was reportedly being treated in a hospital. The embassy said none of its employees had been injured....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15496378,00.html

NATO troops back off from ethnic Serbs blockading border post

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KOSOVO

22.10.2011
NATO peacekeepers have retreated from a confrontation with ethnic Kosovo Serbs blockading border posts. The troops had been set to remove barriers built by protesters angry at a handover of frontier controls to Pristina.

NATO soldiers retreated from a tense stand-off on Saturday as they tried to dismantle a barrier erected by ethnic Kosovo Serbs.

Serbs in northern Kosovo had erected 16 barricades on roads leading to Brnjak and Jarinje after Kosovo authorities said in July they would replace ethnic Serb customs officers at the border with its own staff and EU officials....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15480187,00.html

NATO begins dismantling Serb barricade in northern Kosovo

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KOSOVO

20.10.2011
NATO-led troops have fired tear gas to disperse angry Serb crowds manning roadblocks at a contested border crossing in northern Kosovo. The soldiers have used armored vehicles to remove the barriers.

NATO troops in full riot gear moved in the early hours of Thursday to dismantle makeshift roadblocks set up by Kosovo Serbs in northern Kosovo....more....
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15474510,00.html

Planned Russian-backed pipeline raises concerns in EU

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ENERGY

16.09.2011
A new gas pipeline between Russia and southern Europe that bypasses Ukraine has raised concerns in the EU, although Germany's Wintershall is part of the project and former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is a chief lobbyist.

State-controlled energy giant Gazprom is planning, along with western partners, two huge gas pipeline projects whose stated goals are to secure Europe's energy supplies but which critics say will increase the EU's dependence on Russia....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15390370,00.html

EU and Kosovo police take control of disputed border crossings

deutsche welle
KOSOVO

16.09.2011
Kosovo and European Union police and customs officials have been helicoptered in to two contested crossings on the border between Kosovo and Serbia, raising fears of a fresh wave of ethnic violence.....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15391854,00.html

Kosovo struggles to define Islam as devout groups become more vocal

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BALKANS

08.09.2011
Kosovo's devout Muslims are demanding more mosques to accommodate the faithful. Although Islam is the country's dominant faith, critics are wary of fundamentalist groups.

Kosovo's National Assembly voted down a proposal by a Muslim political party last week aimed at introducing a religious curriculum to the nation's schools....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15369956,00.html

Ex-Yugoslav army chief Perisic jailed for Balkan atrocities

deutsche welle
BALKANS

06.09.2011
The UN's war crimes tribunal has sentenced Serbia's former army chief, Momcilo Perisic to 27 years in jail for murder, persecution and attacks on civilians in Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s.
A UN war crimes court in The Hague sentenced former Yugoslav army general Momcilo Perisic to 27 years in jail on Tuesday for aiding and abetting Balkan war atrocities including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre....more....
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15367858,00.html

Serbia and Kosovo reach deal to end mutual trade embargo

deutsche welle

TRADE

02.09.2011
A mutual trade embargo between Serbia and Kosovo has been lifted, paving the way for goods to flow freely through the two countries. The EU, which mediated the talks, says the deal makes the region look more European.

Serbia and its former province Kosovo on Friday reached an agreement to end a mutual trade embargo during European Union-mediated talks in Brussels.

The EU described the agreement, under which the two sides will allow products from each other's territories to pass freely, as an important step towards improving bilateral relations....
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15362158,00.html

Prosecutor announced in Kosovo organ trafficking inquiry

deutsche welle
KOSOVO

29.08.2011
A US prosecutor is to head a task force investigating alleged criminal activity, including organ trafficking, by Kosovar leaders including Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

A task force to investigate allegations that Kosovo's prime minister was involved in an organ trafficking network has announced the investigation will be led by a US prosecutor.

John Clint Williamson was named 'lead prosecutor' in the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) task force, which was set up to investigate allegations raised in a Council of Europe report last year....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15351029,00.html

Serbia: longing for the past

deutsche welle

EUROPEAN JOURNAL

Retailers in Belgrade can earn good money selling Yugoslavian flags and other symbols of the former multi-ethnic state. Many have yet to come to terms with the breakup of the country.

After arresting and handing over the last war crimes suspect to The Hague, Belgrade is another step closer towards membership of the European Union. But many Serbs still mourn the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, particularly those who are not doing so well economically....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15316650,00.html

Serbia refuses to compromise on Kosovo despite German pressure

deutsche welle

BALKANS

26.08.2011
Serbia has once again vowed never to recognize Kosovo's independence, despite German Chancellor Angela Merkel's warning on Tuesday that Belgrade's rift with Pristina could threaten Serbia's bid to join the EU.

Serbian President Boris Tadic on Friday reiterated that his country would never accept an independent Kosovo, even if it meant endangering its hopes of joining the European Union....more...

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15346429,00.html

Angela Merkel ups the pressure on Serbia

deutsche welle
INSIDE EUROPE

27.08.2011
15:05
Angela Merkel has visited Croatia and Serbia as part of her first Balkans tour as German Chancellor. In Croatia on Monday, she congratulated the country for the progress it had made and for its prospective membership of the European Union in 2013. Then she headed to Belgrade to assure Serbia of Germany's support as it moves towards its goal of EU membership.

But she also pressed for more efforts to solve the ongoing dispute between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo. Mark Lowen reports from Belgrade....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6604121,00.html
audio

http://mediacenter.dw-world.de/english/audio/#!/234997/Angela_Merkel_ups_the_pressure_on_Serbia/Program=3067

Merkel urges Serbia to persevere with reforms to gain EU candidacy status

deutsche welle
CORRESPONDENTS REPORT

23.08.2011
Serbs see Germany as a key ally, but have their reservations about pressure from Berlin over Kosovo....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6602784,00.html

audio

http://mediacenter.dw-world.de/english/audio/#!/230625/Merkel_urges_Serbia_to_persevere_with_reforms_to_gain_EU_candidacy_status

Kosovo tensions visible as Merkel visits Belgrade

deutsche welle
BALKANS

23.08.2011
Chancellor Angela Merkel has appealed to the Serb government to redouble diplomatic efforts with Kosovo. President Boris Tadic, however, has reiterated he will not recognize the former Serb region as a separate country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday publicly urged Serbian President Boris Tadic to engage more productively with Kosovo and resolve the ongoing conflict with the breakaway former Serb region....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15337157,00.html

Merkel campaigns for regional stability in Croatia, Serbia

deutsche welle
BALKANS

23.08.2011
During a visit to Croatia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the country as an economic and political role model for nations in the politically troubled Balkan region. On Tuesday, she continues her tour in Serbia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has praised Croatia as a role model for the politically troubled Balkan region and called on Zagreb to play a larger role in helping to resolve the ongoing border dispute between Serbia and Kosovo and ethnic tensions in Bosnia....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15336008,00.html

Merkel's tour of Croatia and Serbia to focus on economic ties

deutsche welle

BALKANS

22.08.2011
Belgrade and Zagreb are key partners for Germany, even if ties are sometimes complex. Chancellor Angela Merkel has several goals for her trip to Croatia and Serbia, but what do her hosts want and expect from her?

Before Chancellor Angela Merkel's departure for Croatia and Serbia on Monday, her office announced that international, bilateral and trade ties would dominate the agenda. Government sources also acknowledged, however, that the touchiest topic in Belgrade would be Kosovo's claim to independence, recognized by Germany but not by Serbia....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15334175,00.html

Former PM's renewed war crimes trial saddens Kosovo Albanians

deutsche welle

BALKANS

18.08.2011
Former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj is about to face the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague again for his role as leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army. But many people in Kosovo have lost faith in the court.

The decision that Ramush Haradinaj, the former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later prime minister of Kosovo, should again stand trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague has shocked and disappointed most Kosovo Albanians....more...

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15323973,00.html

UN prosecutor may fast-track war crimes trial for Mladic

deutsche welle

WAR CRIMES

17.08.2011
Prosecutors at the UN's war crimes tribunal have proposed splitting the case against former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic in two. They argue this would speed up the often lengthy trial process and ensure a verdict.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have requested that former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic should be tried in two separate trials, documents revealed Wednesday....more...
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15323003,00.html

Bilingual road signs in Slovene and German to point to new era of harmony

deutsche welle
INTEGRATION

16.08.2011
Three years after the death of far-right leader Jörg Haider, the Austrian province of Carinthia and the neighboring country of Slovenia settle a long-running dispute about bilateral place-names signs....more...

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6597421,00.html
audio
http://mediacenter.dw-world.de/english/audio/#!/223139/Bilingual_road_signs_in_Slovene_and_German_to_point_to_new_era_of_harmony