Category Archives: Bosnia and Herzegovina

EU agrees to begin membership negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Leaders of the bloc caution that the country will have to undertake more reforms before the next step can begin

EU leaders have agreed to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina on joining the bloc, while also stressing the Balkan country would have to undertake more reforms before the talks could begin.

“Congratulations! Your place is in our European family. Today’s decision is a key step forward on your EU path,” European Council president, Charles Michel, wrote on X as leaders met at a Brussels summit.

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US joins Bosnia in show of support on eve of planned celebration by Serb nationalists

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Two US fighter jets flew over Bosnia as parts of the country prepared to mark the anniversary of the proclamation of Republika Srpska as a breakaway state

Two US fighter jets flew over Bosnia on Monday in a gesture of support for the country on the eve of a military-style nationalist parade planned by Serb separatists at a time of high tensions.

The American embassy in Sarajevo said that the flight by the F16 planes was a joint training exercise with Bosnian forces, as well as a “demonstration of US commitment” to ensuring Bosnia’s territorial integrity in the face of “secessionist activity”.

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National archives: Tony Blair was advised to work with militants in Kosovo

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Former prime minister had concerns about being seen to be too close to the Kosovo Liberation Army

Tony Blair was advised to work with militants in Kosovo, some of whom have subsequently been put on trial for war crimes, despite reportedly believing they were “not much better than the Serbs” whose own crimes against humanity he was seeking to end, it has been revealed.

Blair, then the UK prime minister, had grave concerns about being seen to be too close to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which was fighting against the Serbian nationalist forces led by Slobodan Milošević.

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Bardonecchia in Italy trumps Bulgarian resorts as best value ski spot

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Piedmont town near French border is now best budget ski resort in Europe for adults, figures show

The ski resorts of Bulgaria have long been seen as the best option for British skiers hoping to hit the slopes on a budget. Borovets and Bansko might not have the glitz of Verbier, the after-ski buzz of St Anton, or the picturesque villages of the Trois Vallées, but as the solid, wallet-friendly option, Bulgaria has been unbeatable for more than a decade.

All that has changed, however, with the Bulgarian resorts this year being eclipsed by an unlikely budget rival: Bardonecchia in Italy. The Piedmont town, 96km from Turin and a few minutes’ drive from the border with France, is now the best value ski resort in Europe for adults, according to research.

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EU sidesteps Viktor Orbán to open membership talks with Ukraine

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Decision after hours of tense negotiations in Brussels is critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy

The EU has decided to open membership negotiations with Ukraine, in an unexpected move that will be a critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and deal a blow to Vladimir Putin.

The announcement, made on Thursday after eight hours of tense negotiations in Brussels, came despite the opposition of Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orbán, had for weeks said it would veto any opening of accession talks.

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Former Yugoslavia countries must face past horrors or risk return to conflict, Council of Europe official says

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Council’s commissioner for human rights says some people prosecuted in the Hague for war crimes ‘return to their communities as heroes’

The failure of the countries of the former Yugoslavia to address their violent past has had devastating consequences for human rights and could ultimately lead to a return to conflict in the region, according to a new Council of Europe report.

The report, published on Thursday by the council’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, said the region has been backsliding for many years on seeking justice and accountability for the brutal wars of the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, which killed more than 130,000 people.

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Germany proposes giving EU candidate countries observer status at summits

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Roadmap for expansion suggests integrating countries such as Ukraine into sections of EU before negotiations are complete

Germany has proposed a detailed and innovative roadmap to expand the EU that would give candidate countries such as Ukraine early benefits including observer status at leaders’ summits in Brussels before full membership.

The proposals by the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, amount to an offer of integrating candidate countries into sections of the EU long before technical negotiations for membership, which can drag on for years, are completed.

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The RSF are out to finish the genocide in Darfur they began as the Janjaweed. We cannot stand by | Kate Ferguson

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Peace between Hemedti’s RSF and Sudan’s army will not end war crimes. As UN security council president, Britain must act

As conflict in Sudan escalates, it is becoming clear that the Rapid Support Forces has returned to Darfur to complete the genocide it began 20 years ago. The RSF is the Janjaweed rebranded, the “devils on horseback” used by the Sudanese government from 2003 to implement widespread and systematic crimes against non-Arab communities across Darfur. The RSF was, and still is, commanded by Gen Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.

In recent weeks, what we knew was coming has been confirmed. Yale University’s Conflict Observatory, which uses a combination of satellite imagery, Nasa thermal-detection data and open-source analysis, found evidence of the “targeted destruction of at least 26 communities” by the RSF between 15 April and 10 July. Mass graves have been discovered, and satellite imagery shows entire urban neighbourhoods and villages have been burned down.

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‘Punk was my weapon’: the rebel power of culture in siege of Sarajevo

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Underground community of Sarajevans recall in new documentary the years they spent trapped in their city

As a radio operator during the siege of Sarajevo, Boris Siber made use of music to blast the enemy airwaves and destroy their communication. “The Clash, Jimi Hendrix and the Sex Pistols, as loud as possible on the frequencies they were using … they changed frequency, then I found them again. That was my task.”

Siber – a member of a hit Yugoslav comedy troupe before the war forced its breakup – also kept up civilian and military morale as a radio comic. “Music and mic were my weapons.”

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Facebook will not testify at U.S. House hearing on social media

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Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it has declined an invitation to testify at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing Thursday on filtering practices by social media companies, a company spokesman said. A man poses with a magnifier in front of a Facebook logo on display in this illustration taken in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2015.

Man Who Concealed Service in Military Unit Involved in Srebrenica…

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A Bosnian Serb residing in North Carolina was sentenced to 18 months in prison today for his criminal conviction of obtaining a Permanent Resident Card , commonly referred to as a "green card," by making materially false claims and statements on his initial application for refugee status, which served as the basis for obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident status. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Deputy Director Thomas D. Homan of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made the announcement.

‘God help us’ – Robert De Niro compares Donald Trump to Travis Bickle from ‘Taxi Driver’

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"God help us," De Niro said on Saturday at the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival, when asked what he thought of Mr Trump's candidacy. Yet the actor is just one of many to have spoken out after a week in which the Republican candidate's campaign lurched into even more uncharted territory and sought to even question the very legitimacy of the election itself.