US bombers fly over Bosnia in sign of support amid continued secessionist threats
A pair of U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers has flown low over Sarajevo and several other Bosnian cities as a sign of support amid continued secessionist threats by the staunchly pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.
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.
Amid 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.
Hungary'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.
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Balkans 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.