The US State Department report on human trafficking which covered 187 states, commended Serbia for sentencing several human traffickers, creating a working group for dealing with the crime and consolidating the investigative jurisdiction over the cases of human trafficking, the Beta news agency reported on Friday.
The Kosovo Appellant Court rejected defence appeal against the detention of those arrested on May 28 and extended the custody for 31 men suspected of corruption, smuggling and abuse of office, the Beta news agency reported on Thursday.
The ruling said the detention had to be extended due to the possibilities of suspects tampering with evidence, influencing the witnesses or fleeing.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci dismissed his political advisor Branislav Nikolic following claims of his alleged involvement in “dubious activities directed against the constitutional order and sovereignty of Kosovo”, a statement said on Wednesday.
The statement from the president’s cabinet said that Thaci took media reports about Nikolic’s dubious activities seriously even though he did not have any official report about those alleged activities by his Serb advisor from any security service.
The Western Balkans countries need almost two centuries to reach an average income in the European Union member states if they progress at such a low growth rate, EBRD Director for the region Zsuzsanna Hargittai said on Wednesday, the Beta news agency reported.
A senior official with the Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) said on Tuesday that the Kosovo authorities have applied for membership in Interpol for a fourth time.
MUP State Secretary Biljana Popovic Ivkovic said that the re-submitted application is part of continued political pressure on the international police organization, a ministry press release said.
European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday called the Kosovo government to immediately revoke the 100 percent tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, adding that Belgrade and Pristina have to implement all agreements reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue.
US President Donald Trump extended a warning from 2001 about the Western Balkans as a threat to his state and notified the Congress that it had not changed, the Beta news agency reported.
President George W. Bush first sent the message of the National Emergency with Respect to the Western Balkans on June 26, 18 years ago, which was renewed in 2003 due to problems in the then ‘Macedonia’.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told a meeting of his party’s top body that parliamentary elections would be held late in March of early in April 2020 and warned of changes at local level to make room for new people.
He said those elections will be “the hardest because many people want Serbia to stop being a sovereign and independent country” while others “want to rob it even more”.
Political agreement in the Western Balkans should be rewarded, the European Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn said on Monday and called on the bloc’s foreign ministers to start accession talks with North Macedonia, the FoNet news agency reported.
Hahn added the move would be an essential signal to the whole region.
Former President of Serbia and Social Democratic Party leader Boris Tadis told Belgrade media that foreigners asked the opposition not to disturb the public because President Aleksandar Vucic promised them Kosovo, reported Serbian media.
Speaking for Belgrade based daily Blic, Tadic said that no one can tell when will the solution for Kosovo happen but that he finds it more important what kind of solution that will be.