Bosnia recounts Serb president race after reports of fraud
Amid widespread reports of fraud in Bosnia’s general election, the ethnically divided country’s top electoral body has announced it will conduct a recount of a Bosnian Serb presidential ballot allegedly rigged by a staunchly pro-Russian leader.
Bosnian Serb leader prays for Trump's return, praises Putin
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The leader of Bosnia's Serbs said Sunday he hoped former U.S. President Donald Trump would return to power and that the Serbs would “wait for appropriate global circumstances” to reach for their goal of seceding from Bosnia, which he called an “unsustainable state.” Milorad Dodik, who was a rare European official to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the war in Ukraine started in late February, made the comments at a gathering marking the start of a bloody breakup of Bosnia 30 years ago.
news.yahoo.comEU foreign policy chief: Bloc won't accept Bosnia breakup
The European Union's foreign policy chief said Sunday that he's deeply concerned about tensions in Bosnia and has appealed to leaders there to avoid the breakup of the Balkan country. Last month, the Biden administration announced new sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who has for years been advocating that the Serb-run part of Bosnia leave the rest of the country and unite with neighboring Serbia.
news.yahoo.comBosnia's defense chief says U.S. troops needed to hold the country together as Serb leader tests fragile 30-year-old peace deal
Almost 30 years after the U.S. forged a peace deal to end the vicious Bosnian War, the fragile 3-way government that deal created is being tested like never before
cbsnews.comAmid tensions, Bosnian Serbs celebrate outlawed holiday
Under growing international pressure over their leader's secessionist aspirations, Bosnian Serbs have celebrated an outlawed holiday with a provocative parade showcasing armored vehicles, police helicopters and law enforcement officers with rifles, marching in lockstep and singing a nationalist song.
Amid tensions, Bosnian Serbs celebrate outlawed holiday
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Amid Bosnia’s greatest political crisis since the end of its 1992-95 interethnic war, the country’s Serbs celebrated an outlawed holiday Sunday with a provocative parade showcasing armored vehicles, police helicopters and law enforcement officers with rifles, marching in lockstep and singing a nationalist song. Addressing several thousand spectators gathered in Banja Luka, the de-facto capital of the Serb-run part of the country, Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik disparaged sanctions Washington slapped on him last week over his alleged corrupt activities and threats to tear the country apart. “This gathering is the best response to those who deny us our rights, … who keep imposing sanctions on us,” Dodik said.
news.yahoo.comGermany pulls honor for Israeli historian over Bosnia report
The German government has dropped plans to give the country's highest honor to an Israeli historian amid criticism of his work on the genocide in Bosnia. German news agency dpa reported Friday that the Foreign Ministry has withdrawn its nomination for Gideon Greif to receive Germany's Order of Merit. Greif, who has done extensive work on the Holocaust, was part of an international panel of historians who in June published a lengthy report that suggested the 1995 killing of thousands of Muslims in Srebrenica didn't constitute genocide.
news.yahoo.comHungary's PM denounced in Bosnia for anti-Muslim rhetoric
Bosnian officials and religious leaders have denounced suggestions voiced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his spokesman that the integration of Bosnia into the European Union will be challenging because of its large Muslim population.
International envoy: Bosnian Serbs trying to break up Bosnia
The chief international representative in Bosnia is warning that the war-scarred Balkan nation could face the biggest “existential threat of the post-war period” if the international community does not curb threatened separatist actions by Bosnian Serbs.
Top international official in Bosnia bans denial of genocide
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The top international official in Bosnia on Friday banned denial of genocide in the Balkan country to counter attempts by Bosnia’s Serbs to deny the scope of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Europe's only post-World War II genocide. The killings of more than 8,000 Bosniaks by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica was declared a genocide by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia.
news.yahoo.comBalkans feel abandoned as vaccinations kick off in Europe
North Macedonian epidemiologist Dragan Danilovski compared the current vaccine situation in the Western Balkans to the inequalities seen during the 1911 sinking of the Titanic. Serbia is the only Western Balkan nation to receive vaccine shots so far, getting deliveries from Pfizer-BioNTech and the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine. However, Serbia does not have enough doses to begin mass vaccinations, as only 25,000 shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 2,400 of the Russian vaccine have arrived. “Throughout the pandemic, the EU has shown that we treat the Western Balkans as privileged partners,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi. “I trust (the Russian vaccine), I don’t trust the commercial narratives that are coming from the West,” Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb's leader, declared before he was hospitalized with coronavirus.
Bosnian Serbs say icon given to Russian minister not stolen
Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Milorad Dodik, right, welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of their meeting in the capital Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Kemal Softic)SARAJEVO – SARAJEVO, Bosnia-An Orthodox icon presented to Russia's foreign minister had not been stolen from the Ukraine, the office of Bosnia's Serb leader said Tuesday, amid an international diplomatic spat over its origins. The presiding Serb member of Bosnia’s three-member presidency, Milorad Dodik, gifted the gilded icon to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he visited Bosnia on Dec. 14. Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday it would return the icon to the Bosnian Serbs for an international police investigation about its origin. The statement did not say how Dodik came to possess the religious artwork or how it was brought to Bosnia.
The Latest: Coronavirus cases keep rising in South Korea
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has added 1,092 new coronavirus cases in a resurgence that is erasing hard-won epidemiological gains and eroding public confidence in the government’s ability to handle the outbreak. It would deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Preliminary data on U.S. deaths show the coronavirus pandemic contributing to a 15% or more increase in deaths over last year. ___MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials have reported a new daily high in confirmed coronavirus cases as the country awaits its first shipment of vaccine. ___WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation is reporting 151 new coronavirus cases and seven more deaths related to COVID-19.
Russia to give icon that sparked controversy back to Bosnia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, listens Bosnian Serb official Milorad Dodik, who is the member of Bosnia's multi-ethnic presidency during a press conference after their talks in the capital Sarajevo, Bosnia, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Lavrov is on a two-day visit to Bosnia. (AP Photo/Kemal Softic)MOSCOW – Russia said Saturday it will return an Orthodox icon presented to the Russian foreign minister in Bosnia, a gift that has triggered a protest from Ukraine. The presiding Serb member of Bosnia’s three-member presidency, Milorad Dodik, gave the icon to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he visited Sarajevo earlier this week. On Saturday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the icon would be returned to Bosnia pending an Interpol probe to clarify its origins.
Slovenian premier endorses Trump's reelection, joins others
LJUBLJANA – Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection on Friday, saying Joe Biden would be a weak leader. With a tweet, Jansa added his name to a list of regional leaders who have openly supported Trump during the election campaign. Go, win, Donald Trump,” Jansa said. Also Friday, the Serb member of Bosnia's three-member presidency, Milorad Dodik, urged Serbs living in the U.S. to vote for Trump. Right-wing conservatives in Eastern and Central Europe, like Orban, Vucic and Jansa, have sometimes copied Trump’s style of leadership.
Bosnian Serbs honor late ex-official convicted of war crimes
SARAJEVO – SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Bosnian Serb authorities on Wednesday held an official commemoration for a top former wartime leader, despite his war crimes conviction by a U.N. court. The gathering illustrates the continued Bosnian Serb denial of their wartime leaders’ role in the atrocities committed against non-Serbs during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia. A leading Bosnian Serb official, Milorad Dodik, who is the member of Bosnia's multi-ethnic presidency, praised Krajsnik's “historic role” in establishing the Serb entity in Bosnia, according to Bosnian Serb broadcaster RTRS. He was a close aide to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who was convicted of genocide by the Hague tribunal. Bosnian Serb forces took control of large swaths of Bosnian territory, expelling Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslims, and Croats from their homes and brutally killing thousands.
Migrants at center of political tug-of-war in divided Bosnia
In this grab taken from video migrants who were directed off a railroad by police blocking the path gather, in Bosanska Otoka, Bosnia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. Bosnias quarreling ethnic leaders have put migrants amassed in the country while seeking entry to Europe at the center of a a political tug-of-war. Krajina authorities began enforcing their decision to ban all new migrants arrivals in the last three days. Migrants mostly enter Bosnia across the Drina River, on its eastern border with Serbia. Local authorities in Krajina have long accused Bosnia's central government of subjecting the migration crisis to political infighting and failing to provide them with any practical help.