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The 11-foot statue, dedicated to the US president to thank him for launching a Nato bombing campaign to halt the killing of ethnic Albanians by Serbian troops in 1999, sits on a boulevard also named for Mr Clinton. "I am profoundly grateful that I had a chance to be a part of ending the horrible things that were happening to you 10 years ago, giving you a chance to build a better future for yourself," Mr Clinton told the crowd. "I never expected ... anywhere someone will make such a big statue of me," he said after the statue was...

The UNHRC endorsed Goldstone's Gaza report and I, for once, am happy for this just and timely decision. However, it is clearly not enough, as there are still criminals walking among us, some of whom are even occupying key positions in the US and European governments. To fix this unbearable situation, in which criminals are not persecuted simply because of the high positions they occupy, I would like to propose for the Human Rights Council to start from the very head of the pyramid of power, to set an example for all other would-be war criminals. And what example could...

Testimony of Captain Walter R. Mansfield, first American Liaison Officer with General Mihailovich, before the Commission of Inquiry Captain Walter R. Mansfield, U.S. General Draza Mihailovich 1943 MR. KIENDL TO CAPTAIN MANSFIELD: You never saw any evidence of collaboration all the time you were there? CAPTAIN MANSFIELD: I never saw any evidence of collaboration between Mihailovich personally and the Germans. Q: Did you ever hear any reports from any Americans to the effect that there was such collaboration between Mihailovich and the Germans? A: I have only heard reports to the contrary, that there was none. From the first day's...

BELGRADE -- The average highest income tax rate in EU countries is almost double that of Serbia, Belgrade daily Blic writes. At the same time, a lower rate is applied only in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. According to valid legislation, a Serbian citizen will pay about EUR 146,000 to the state out of each million they earn – half the figure that a Cypriot citizen would pay in taxes. In Denmark, the number would reach over half a million euros, says the newspaper. Saša Radulović, an independent investment consultant who has worked in Germany, Canada and the...

Following the successful organized uprising, the first of its kind in occupied Europe, by the Serbian resistance forces under the command of Serbia’s General Draza Mihailovich that not only threatened Germany’s southern flank in Europe and her occupation of Serbia after Yugoslavia fell to Hitler in April of 1941, but critically delayed Hitler’s planned attack on the Soviet Union that summer, the Germans retaliated. But it wasn’t in the usual way, man to man, soldier to soldier. The method of Nazi retaliation initiated against the Serbs was unprecedented, and the target was the civilian population. Hitler’s aim was to suppress...

Enter the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations. This is anything but a minor ministry in the Russian government. Shoigu has essentially run the ministry since 1994. He is a member of the powerful and selective Russian Security Council -- a key advisory body to the Russian executive on national security -- and has roots in the foreign military intelligence directorate, better known as the GRU, which is one of the most powerful and shadowy institutions in Russia. The ministry is an unofficial wing of the GRU and an outgrowth of its activities. It handles more than natural emergencies: It is...

Missy Loewe, Academic Dean of Washington School of Photography (middle) was instrumental in making the exhibit possible. The exhibit opened on Friday, Oct. 9, 2009, in the Gallery of the Washington School of Photography in Bethesda, Maryland. Organized by RAS-The International Serbian Organization, and the Washington School of Photography, a premier school of photography in the Washington Metropolitan area, this exhibit presents photographs made by the Serbian children who live in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija . Hundreds of Serbian children, together with thousands of adults, live behind barbed wires, in concentration camp conditions and in...

BELGRADE -- Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu says that Serbia, as a part of Europe, will be part of a common European security concept. Sergei Shoigu (Beta, archive) He refused to get into details regarding the concept after his meeting with Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Da�ić, and advised journalists to them to ask Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was in Serbia yesterday. “It is best to ask Medvedev about it, because he has discussed it several times, even in detail recently, so I would not like to give any misinformation on the issue,� Shoigu said. Da�ić added that the...

18.10.2009, 20.31 BELGRADE, October 18 (Itar-Tass) -- The October 20 visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Belgrade will have a historic significance for Serbia from the point of view of political and economic cooperation, Serbian Vice-Premier, Interior Minister and Cochair of the Serbian-Russian Intergovernmental Committee for Trade and Economic Cooperation Ivica Dacic said on Sunday. Medvedev will visit Serbia at the invitation of Serbian President Boris Tadic to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Belgrade liberation from the Nazi. “The sides think alike about many important international problems, including the Kosovo status and preservation of Serbia’s territorial integrity,� Dacic...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8LHOdZGRdo

An Open Letter to Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia: October 18, 2009 Dear President Tadic, My name is Aleksandra, and I'm an American. I was born and raised in America and live in the United States. I am of Serbian descent, the daughter of parents who came to this country after World War Two and made America their permanent home. I wish I could have attended the reception given in your honor in Cleveland, Ohio on September 20th, 2009. Several friends did attend, and everyone was so pleased to have had the opportunity to spend time with...

NOTE: A video/audio webcast of President Tadic's presentation is also available via "Real Player" at http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/RS.shtmlGENERAL ASSEMBLY SIXTY-FOURTH SESSION STATEMENT by H.E.MR. BORIS TADIC PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA New York, 25 September 2009 "President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The United Nations is the only universal institution that unites us as a global community of independent states. At the very heart of this indispensable Organization stands the General Assembly—the only place in the world where the sovereign voices of all countries are given an equal, legitimate say in the future course of mankind....

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Friday jailed a Serbian national for eight years for attempting to pass secrets about Russian missile and other defense projects to a Pentagon intermediary, Interfax news agency reported on Friday. Aleksandar Georgijevic took his orders from a U.S. citizen who worked for a firm acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, Interfax reported. In 1998, Georgijevic attempted to collect information on a number of Russian military projects, including the Iskander tactical missiles and the R-500, a supersonic cruise missile. But only information on the "Arena" tank protection system was passed on...

Belgrade police charged Serbian President Boris Tadic for allegedly violating anti-hooligan laws by opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate Serbia's World Cup qualification, they said today. Tadic and a number of other officials uncorked the champagne in a VIP lounge at Red Star Belgrade stadium last Saturday after Serbia's victory over Romania qualified them for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Police filed charges to a magistrate in Belgrade against Tadic, Serbia's Football Association chief Tomislav Karadzic, Sports Minister Snezana Markovic-Samardzic and other officials for "violating the law preventing violence and indecent behaviour at sports matches," the statement...

October 9, 2009 marks the 75th anniversary of the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. This assassination of the Serbian king by a Macedonian terrorist working with Croatian separatists never garnered the notoriety that the June 28, 1914 assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip did. However, the impact of the assassination of King Alexander I and French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou in Marseille, France, though not as “immediate” as the Sarajevo assassination in 1914 that precipitated World War I, was a harbinger of the even greater cataclysm that was coming. Given the climate in Europe...

Think things in America can't get any more unsettling? Well, you're wrong. Meet the American Police Force, which will soon take over a Montana jail that once asked to house Guantanamo inmates. And, shocker, they're shady as hell. Let's look... Unorganized militia's played quite the role in America's revolution, and they've been experiencing a bit of a revival in the scary recent past. The anti-immigrant Minute Men are out in full force down Arizona way, while the once-defunct Michigan Militia seems to have revived itself: they just had a training exercise called Operation Pita Storm. But those groups are small...

Note: The following text is a quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: Belgrade Expatriates Experiencing Attacks CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS Europe - Serbia 25 Sep 2009 U.S. Embassy Belgrade issues the following Warden Message September 25: The U.S. Embassy wishes to alert American Citizens to a recent spate of crimes affecting the expatriate community in Belgrade. The Regional Security Office (RSO) states that trends involving physical assaults and gun violence remain a threat to foreigners. The RSO wishes to highlight the some recent criminal events: · On September 16, 2009, a British...

Bosnian Muslim leader weapons smuggler Sep 23, 2009 The leader of the Bosnian Muslim extremist political party, the SDA, is also the main kernel in the Bosnian Muslim network of weapons smuggling says Bosnian Muslim expert on security and terrorism Dzevad Galijasevic. Bakir Izetbegovic, the leader of the SDA and a son of the late extremist Muslim leader, Alija Izetbegovic, who invited al-Qaeda into Bosnia, is the main organizer in smuggling of illegal weapons into Bosnia says Galijasevic and notes that the former SDA leader Hasan Cengic, who is very close to the radicals in Iran, control the black market...

Monument of the Unknown Hero / Mt. Avala, Serbia CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER II LAYS WREATH AT THE MONUMENT OF THE UNKNOWN HERO ON AVALA MOUNTAIN IN SERBIA Belgrade, 15 September 2009 – His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II laid a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Hero on Avala Mountain near Belgrade, for the September 15th anniversary of the breach of the Thessaloniki (Salonika) Front in 1918. A traditional ceremony with military honours was organized by the Association of Descendants of Serbian Warriors 1912 – 1920, and besides HRH Crown Prince Alexander II, wreaths were also laid by:...

BELGRADE -- Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman have signed an agreement to abolish visas between the two countries. The two ministers welcomed the signing, stating that it was an important step in the development of bilateral relations. “This removes the obstacle to Serbian businesspeople and tourists that want to come to Israel,” Lieberman said. Jeremic and Lieberman said that only new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina could yield a permanent solution to the Kosovo status question. The Serbian minister said that he thanked Lieberman for Israel’s firm position regarding Kosovo. “I am very thankful...

A group of Serbian paratroopers jumped with their Israeli counterparts on Saturday in a festive solidarity parachute jump near Beersheba. An IDF paratrooper exercise (illustrative). Photo: IDF SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World The group of 10 paratroopers from Serbia's 63rd Airborne Brigade arrived here on Friday for a weeklong visit that will include a ceremony at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem and a visit to the Israel Air Force's Tel Nof Base. On Wednesday, the group will hold another solidarity jump in the North and will wrap up its visit to Yad Vashem. According to Jovan Culibrk, one of the...

Israel opposes Kosovo recognition, urges talks Sep 16, 2009 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic have agreed that new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina is the only way to achieve a long-term and stable solution for the future status of Kosovo. Lieberman said that direct talks is the only way that a comprehensive peace in the region can be achieved. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left, and Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic meet in Serbia September 16, 2009. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left, and Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic meet in Serbia September 16,...

BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia will have to lay off about one-fifth of its government employees — 14,000 people — to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund to receive more financial aid, the country's finance minister said Monday. Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic said Serbia aims to cut spending before the government resumes its talks with the IMF on Oct. 20. The IMF has postponed giving the Balkan country access to additional funds from a euro2.8 billion ($4 billion) standby loan granted in March, demanding details on how Serbia plans to finance its growing budget deficit amid the global financial...

From Alex M. in Belgrade, Serbia:For all my friends abroad - those of you who wish to learn about Belgrade or are planning to come for a visit, and for my countrymen abroad who feel nostalgic for home, I have written my own guide to Belgrade. A lot of effort went into this. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Read it slowly, and try to imagine the pictures as you are reading. Enjoy!NOTE from Ravnagora: I have included the photos in Alex's piece and they have been taken from various sources on the internet. ***** According to...

Beautiful picture of a bridge in Kosovo (Bing Sept. 4, 2009).

BELGRADE -- The military intelligence services have submitted information to the State Commission that General Dragoljub Mihailovich is buried on Ada Ciganlija. According to the State Commission on Establishing the Truth about the Murder of Dragoljub Mihailovich, digging will shortly begin next to the gates of a former prison on Ada as part of the search for Mihailovich’s remains, writes daily Novosti. “This is the first time that a state body has submitted tangible knowledge of the execution and burial of General Mihailovich. The conditions have therefore been created to begin excavations at that location,“ one member of the commission...

Remnants of Iraq Air Force Are FoundBy ROD NORDLAND Published: August 30, 2009 BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials have discovered that they may have a real air force, after all. The Defense Ministry revealed Sunday that it had recently learned that Iraq owns 19 MIG-21 and MIG-23 jet fighters, which are in storage in Serbia. Ministry officials are negotiating with the Serbs to restore and return the aircraft. The Serbian government has tentatively promised to make two of the aircraft available “for immediate use,” according to a news release from the ministry. The rest would be restored on a rush basis,...

Iraq to fetch MiG fighter planes from Serbia (AFP) – 11 hours ago BAGHDAD — An Iraqi military delegation has gone to Serbia to bring back 19 MiG fighter planes that Saddam Hussein's regime sent for servicing 20 years ago, the defence ministry said on Saturday. "General Othman al-Fredji, a defence ministry adviser, and Anwar Mohammed Amin, head of the air force, are in Serbia negotiating the return (of the planes) at the earliest possible date," spokesman General Mohammed al-Askari said. The Soviet-built MiG-21 and 23 aircraft, whose existence has just been discovered, "were sent by Saddam's government in 1989...

Monument to the heroes of Cer in Serbia De-Construct.net August 23, 2009 On August 23rd, 2009, In the midst of ceremonies marking the 95-year anniversary of the Battle of Cer [pronounced Tser], the first Allied victory of WWI, the archpriest of the Serbian Šabac Diocese announced the building of a church dedicated to the fallen heroes of the First World War and to the glorious Serb-Russian saint, St. John the Wonderworker. “We shall do everything to make sure the Cer heroes finally have their own church. Back in 1939, the reserve officers from this region collected money and received permission...

Plaque in Pranjani dedicated to the Halyard Mission on September 12, 2004. The plaque next to it reflects the same inscription in the Serbian language. Photo courtesy of OSS Halyard Mission radioman Arthur "Jibby" Jibilian Serb soldiers in front of the Halyard Mission monument first dedicated in September of 2004,in Pranjani, Serbia August 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of Lt. Col. John Cappello Ohio National Guard troops that are in Serbia doing work on schools in South Serbia. They are working with Serb soldiers, some of which are also in the photo. The older folks are those who participated in assisting...

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Serbian President Boris Tadic on Thursday agreed to establish a strategic partnership between the two countries. During their talks held Thursday afternoon, the two heads of state exchanged views on building and developing a strategic partnership and reached a broad consensus. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) welcomes visiting Serbian President Boris Tadic in Beijing, capital of China, on Aug. 20, 2009.(Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)Hu highly valued Chinese relations with Serbia, saying the two peoples have traditional friendship and no matter what happened in the world, the relations between the two countries have developed healthily. He put forward...

On Dec. 4, 2001, five members of a Las Vegas-based charter crew were detained by Russian authorities after they landed without visas in Petropavlovsk. The remote Russian city, located on the Kamchatka peninsula and surrounded by active volcanoes, is nine time zones east of Moscow and cannot be reached by road.

The EU rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, has confirmed that it is now involved in the investigation into allegations that three Serbs attempted to secure false testimony about organ trafficking. Christophe Lamfalussy told Balkan Insight that a mixed team of Kosovo and EULEX prosecutors in Pristina were now investigating the case. Three Serbs were arrested in June by Kosovo police, accused of trying to bribe Kosovo Serbs to falsely testify that they were victims of organ harvesting during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict. EULEX was not involved in the initial arrests. Milutin Radanovic and Predrag Zelkovic are Serbian citizens....

Pristina, the capital of an Anglo created Islamic Jihadist state, which of course it is never sold as, is a true show case for what any Christian nation has to face if and when its majority falls from power. This of course is nothing new for our ancient ancestors who witnessed this and knew why they fought against Islam. Unfortunately, the present day West, decadent in its form, ignorant in its self love, intellectually bankrupt and lazy, refuses to see the hell they have forced on Orthodox Christian victims and that they themselves soon face. In Pristina, the show case...

The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade is proud to host a brass and drum troupe from the Naval Forces Europe and Africa Allied Forces Band, based in Naples, Italy, to join this year’s Gu�a Trumpet festival. The six-member band will be a guest of Gu�a festival from August 6 – 9, 2009. The band will play on the stages and streets of Gu�a and on the main stage on August 7th at 22:30h. The band is eager to play in Serbia and to learn more about “truba�i� music and Serbian traditions.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin has stated that the Moscow authorities are paying special attention to the forthcoming visit of President Dmitri Medvedev, who will come to Belgrade on October 20, the day when the Serbian capital was liberated in 1944 from the Fascist occupiers. While saying that Medvedev and Serbian President Boris Tadic have agreed in yesterday’s phone conversation to make this visit a landmark in the bilateral relations, the Russian Ambassador has specified that the talks will primarily touch upon the economic cooperation and issues relating to investments. In stressing that Russia will probably grant a credit...

PRAGUE — Europe’s leading human rights group began an investigation on Monday into Serb allegations that Serbian civilians were abducted in Kosovo during the Kosovo war of 1998-99 and taken to Albania, where their organs were extracted for sale before they were killed. The inquiry, by the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, is being led by Dick Marty, a Swiss senator, who previously investigated the existence of alleged secret Central Intelligence Agency prisons in Europe used to interrogate terrorist suspects. The Council said Mr. Marty would meet this week with leading war crimes officials and human rights groups...

I never figured myself for some weepy tree hugger. Not when the village sent the letter about the big elm tree in our front yard, not when the Serbians showed up in the morning. "You feel bad. This I understand," said Bogdan Mijic, 23, whose father, Nedeljko, and Bogdan's younger brothers, Branislav and Borislav, run the County Tree Service in Stickney. "People feel sad," said Bogdan, blond hair cropped short, eyes far too old for a young man in his 20s. "They're sad. You lose something. I understand this." Bogdan lost something too, but of far greater value than a...

In the midst of conflicts in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, I cannot help but wonder: Whatever happened to the Balkans? We Americans spent more than a decade listening to and watching CNN and BBC clips of the war-torn region and the countless war crimes that had taken place at the hands of various ethnic groups. What about Kosovo? A 78-day bombing campaign was undertaken to "liberate Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population" from the hands of "terror-invoking Serbs." Why was there no media follow- up of the accomplishments of peace-loving and newly liberated Kosovo Albanians? Quite simply, because there are...

Today, Friday July 17, 2009, marks 63 years since the life of General Draza Mihailovich was taken.To date, there is still no gravesite.*****The Hero Whom You Gave to History Has Not His Like in Our Time“Twenty years after the death of Draza Mihailovich he is undimmed in his glory as a defender of liberty against the Fascist terror, who defended it also against the Communist terror. He had no moment of weakness, nor of bitterness. I know no instance where he reproached those who were guilty of his betrayal. Twenty years ago I knew he was innocent of all charges...

BELGRADE, Serbia -- EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana visited Belgrade on Monday (July 13th) and insisted there will be no new conditions on Serbia's path towards the EU. Sceptics have long believed that at some point, Serbia will be forced to acknowledge Kosovo's independence to become an EU member. Following meetings with Serbian leaders, Solana stressed that deepening EU ties with Serbia "is a fundamental objective". He also said the EU will formally announce good news in regards to scrapping visas for Serbs very soon.

Note: In commemoration of the anniversary week of General Draza Mihailovich's execution in 1946, I wanted to share articles from that time that most folks wouldn't have the opportunity to see. ______________________ The Whitehall News London July 19, 1946 POLITICAL MURDERGeneral Mihailovich is dead, shot by a firing squad in Belgrade. This political murder, carried out by Marshal Tito’s appointed judges, was committed on the national hero of Serbia and on the man, who, in 1941, brought Yugoslavia into the war on the Allied side. It is, therefore, one of the most revolting examples of abandonment by the Western Democracies...

On May 13, 1946, the Committee for a Fair Trial for General Mihailovich announced that a Commission of Inquiry had been established in New York for the purpose of taking testimonies of American officers and airmen whose request to be heard as witnesses at the trial of General Draza Mihailovich in Belgrade, Yugoslavia had been refused by the Tito government.The following is a transcript of Captain George S. Musulin’s testimony before the Commission of InquiryPROCEEDINGS ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1946 Committee for a Fair Trial for Draza Mihailovich Commission of Inquiry in the Matter of Depositions of American and Allied...

BELGRADE -- Boris Tadić and Mahmoud Abbas agree that the Kosovo question and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis can be resolved by upholding international law. Abbas and Tadić are seen in Belgrade (Tanjug) The presidents of Serbia and the Palestinian Authority agreed that conflicts around the world, including in Kosovo and the Middle East, could be settled through negotiations and without imposed solutions. Abbas, who is in Belgrade at Tadić’s invitation, said that the two countries had several decades of good relations behind them, forged through the Non-Aligned Movement, adding that he hoped that the movement’s 50th anniversary in 2011 would be...

Twelve alleged Muslim radicals who were mostly arrested in Serbia's southern region of Sandzak have been jailed for plotting attacks on an imam and others. Their alleged leader, Senad Ramovic, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for terrorist offenses and illegal possession of arms and explosives. Eleven defendants got terms ranging from eight years to six months, two were acquitted and one faces retrial. All pleaded not guilty when their trial opened in Belgrade in January 2008. Most of the 15 defendants were arrested near Novi Pazar, Sandzak's main town, in 2007. Police displayed weapons said to have been...

July 3, 2009 SNIPPET: "Belgrade, 3 July (AKI) - A special Belgrade court on Friday sentenced 11 members of a radical Islamic Wahabi movement to more than 60 years in prison after they were found guilty of planning terrorist activities and illegal weapons possession. Fifteen members of the group were arrested in Serbia’s southern Sandzak region, which has a substantial Muslim population. The trial started in January last year but 12 members of the group refused to engage defence lawyers, saying they did not recognise a Serbian court and could be “judged only by Allah”...."

Kosovo is a Sacred Serbian Land“620 years since the fateful Battle of Kosovo, we have gathered here to honor our glorious ancestors who have laid down their lives so we can live in Kosovo and Metohija today. They knew why the Kosovo Battle was fought, they knew what were they defending and whom were they defending. “We today also know why have we gathered here: to pray to the Lord and to say that Kosovo is a sacred Serbian land, drenched in blood, tears and sweat of our forefathers. Kosovo was, is and will be the heart of Serbia, just...

"Undercover" (1943)"Underground Guerrillas" (U.S. 1944)On July 27, 1943, Ealing Studios in Great Britain released the movie Undercover on the guerrilla resistance movement in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. Undercover was re-released by Columbia Pictures on September 14, 1944 in the United States under the title Underground Guerrillas. The movie was originally entitled Chetnik and was to document the Yugoslav Chetnik resistance movement headed by Draza Mihailovich. Because the movie was released when British support for Mihailovich was waning, however, the film was re-edited and references to Mihailovich and the Chetniks were deleted. The movie is invaluable, nevertheless, as a cinematic account of the...

Belgrade, 26 June (AKI) – Serbian leaders have reacted angrily to a Bulgarian court's decision to release former Kosovo prime minister and war crimes suspect Agim Ceku, whose extradition is being sought by Belgrade. Deputy prime minister Ivica Dacic said that the decision of Bulgaria’s court would not help “good neighbourly relations” between the two countries. Ceku was arrested on Tuesday at a border crossing between Macedonia and Bulgaria by police acting on a Serbian Interpol arrest warrant. But he was set free by a Bulgarian court on Thursday. “Obviously, the work of Interpol is burdened by political pressures on...

SOFIA (AFP) — Bulgaria on Thursday released former Kosovo premier Agim Ceku, arrested on a warrant from Serbia, where he is wanted on war crimes charges, an AFP photographer in the court reported. Ceku walked free after a prolonged hearing into whether or not Sofia should extend his detention. He was initially held in custody only for a period of 72 hours. The former Kosovo premier was, however, asked to remain in Bulgaria until July 2, in case the prosecution appealed his release, judge Sonya Kocheva was cited by national radio as saying. Prosecutors hinted they would not appeal. Serbia's...