INSIDER
Xi begins Serbia visit on the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy
Read full article: Xi begins Serbia visit on the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese EmbassyChinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to European ally Serbia falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy during NATO’s air war over Kosovo.
Serbian democracy activists feel betrayed as freedoms, and a path to the EU, slip away
Read full article: Serbian democracy activists feel betrayed as freedoms, and a path to the EU, slip awayWhen Serbia began talks to join the European Union in 2014, pro-Western Serbs were hopeful the process would set their troubled country on an irreversible path to democratization.
UN appeals court increases sentences for 2 Serbs convicted of crimes in Balkan wars
Read full article: UN appeals court increases sentences for 2 Serbs convicted of crimes in Balkan warsUnited Nations appeals judges have significantly expanded the convictions of two allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, holding them responsible for involvement in crimes across Bosnia and in one town in Croatia as members of a joint criminal plan to drive out non-Serbs from the areas during the Balkan wars.
Serbia's mass shootings prompt national reckoning for war-scarred nation
Read full article: Serbia's mass shootings prompt national reckoning for war-scarred nationWhen a 13-year-old boy last week opened fire on his fellow students in a school in Belgrade, and a day later a man killed people at random in villages south of the Serbian capital, the country came to a standstill.
War-crimes warrant for Putin could complicate Ukraine peace
Read full article: War-crimes warrant for Putin could complicate Ukraine peaceAn international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of justice for the man whose country invaded Ukraine but complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.
A look at high-profile political assassinations this century
Read full article: A look at high-profile political assassinations this centuryJapanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday by a gunman who opened fire on him as he delivered a campaign speech on a street in western Japan, shocking the country.
Live stream: Madeleine Albright memorial service held in Washington
Read full article: Live stream: Madeleine Albright memorial service held in WashingtonWorld leaders and Washington's political and foreign policy elite are paying their respects to Madeleine Albright, who was America's first female secretary of state.
Live stream: Madeleine Albright memorial service held in Washington
Read full article: Live stream: Madeleine Albright memorial service held in WashingtonWorld leaders and the U.S. political and foreign policy elite joyously remembered America's first female secretary of state as mourners paid their respects to the late Madeleine Albright.
Ex-UN prosecutor urges global arrest warrant for Putin
Read full article: Ex-UN prosecutor urges global arrest warrant for PutinThe former chief prosecutor of U.N. war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'She became our voice': Albright hailed by world leaders
Read full article: 'She became our voice': Albright hailed by world leadersAs she pressed the Clinton administration into action against Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic over war crimes in the Balkans, Madeleine Albright would harken back to her own childhood as a refugee from Czechoslovakia who fled the Nazis in war-torn Europe.
EXPLAINER: Who's a war criminal, and who gets to decide?
Read full article: EXPLAINER: Who's a war criminal, and who gets to decide?President Joe Biden has flatly called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the unfolding onslaught in Ukraine, where hospitals and maternity wards have been bombed.
EXPLAINER: Putin's Balkan narrative argument for Ukraine war
Read full article: EXPLAINER: Putin's Balkan narrative argument for Ukraine warWell before Russian tanks and troops rolled into Ukraine, Vladimir Putin was using the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s to ostensibly offer justification for the invasion of a sovereign European country.
UK independent body: China committed genocide in Xinjiang
Read full article: UK independent body: China committed genocide in XinjiangAn independent and unofficial body set up by a prominent British barrister to assess evidence on China’s alleged rights abuses against the Uyghur people has concluded that the Chinese government committed genocide and crimes against humanity.
UN war crimes court convicts 2 Serbs over Bosnia atrocities
Read full article: UN war crimes court convicts 2 Serbs over Bosnia atrocitiesA United Nations court has convicted two former allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic of aiding and abetting crimes committed by Serb paramilitaries in a Bosnian town in 1992.
Serbia gives award to 2019 Nobel Literature winner Handke
Read full article: Serbia gives award to 2019 Nobel Literature winner HandkeSerbia has honored 2019 Nobel Literature Prize winner Peter Handke, who is known for his apologist views over Serbia’s nationalist policies and war crimes during the 1990s’ wars in the Balkans.
Bosnia Serbs honor controversial Nobel Literature winner
Read full article: Bosnia Serbs honor controversial Nobel Literature winnerBosnian Serbs have honored the controversial 2019 Nobel Literature Prize winner Peter Handke, who is known for his apologist views over Serb war crimes during the 1990s’ wars in the Balkans.
UK tribunal to hear witnesses on China genocide accusations
Read full article: UK tribunal to hear witnesses on China genocide accusationsOrganizer Nick Vetch said Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, a eight-member panel who will act as jury has been finalized. The panel has been selected to represent diverse backgrounds and no expert on China was included on purpose, Vetch said. In declaring genocide, Pompeo cited widespread forced birth control and forced labor among Uighurs. China denies any abuses and insists that the steps it has taken are necessary to combat terrorism and a separatist movement. AdVetch said the tribunal has written to the former and current Chinese ambassadors to London to request the Chinese government’s presence and cooperation, but so far received no response.
Serbia president: Prime minister to remain in office
Read full article: Serbia president: Prime minister to remain in officeIn this photo taken Friday, July 26, 2019, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic speaks during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia. Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has proposed that current Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stay in office for another four years, paving the way for the formation of a new government more than three months after a parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)BELGRADE – Serbia’s president on Monday proposed that current Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stay in office, paving the way for the formation of a new government more than three months after a parliamentary election. “I hold Ana Brnabic in very high regard,” he said. Brnabic became Serbia's first female and openly gay prime minister in 2017, after Vucic resigned the post in order to take part in a presidential election.
UK public tribunal to probe Uighur 'genocide' claims
Read full article: UK public tribunal to probe Uighur 'genocide' claimsThe prominent British human rights lawyer is convening an independent tribunal in London with public hearings next year, to look into the Chinese government's alleged rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority in the far western province of Xinjiang. The tribunal is expected to reveal new evidence and testimony over several days hearings next year. Allegations against China about potential genocide are questions that should be asked and answered but such claims have never been legally scrutinized in public, Nice told The Associated Press. At the moment, the strongest evidence would appear to be evidence of incarceration and possibly evidence of enforced sterilization, Nice said. The World Uighur Congress, an international organization representing Uighur exiles, has provided initial evidence and funding to the London tribunal.
Serbia denies meddling in tense Montenegro election
Read full article: Serbia denies meddling in tense Montenegro electionBELGRADE Serbian officials have denied that Serbia and its president have interfered in Montenegros parliamentary election that was narrowly won by pro-Belgrade and pro-Russian political groupings. President Vucic and the current state politics in Serbia have shown two very problematic intentions, Djukanovic told Nova.rs television late Tuesday. Vucic, who once served as information minister in Milosevics government, has repeatedly denied meddling in Montenegros affairs and the election. There is no way that Montenegro is in any form threatened by Serbia, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said. Djukanovic defied Russia in 2017 to lead his country into NATO after gaining independence from much larger Serbia in 2006.
Serbia surprisingly joins EU in condemnation of Belarus vote
Read full article: Serbia surprisingly joins EU in condemnation of Belarus voteIn this photo taken Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, centre, reviews the honor guard with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic upon his arrival at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade has had close relations with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who last visited the Balkan country in December. Serbias acceptance of the EU criticism of the Belarus leader was first revealed Wednesday in tweets by the EU and US ambassadors to Belgrade who hailed the move. I welcome Serbia for joining EU Declaration on Presidential Elections in Belarus, EU Ambassador Sam Fabrizi wrote on Twitter. Although formally seeking EU membership, Serbia has been strengthening political, economic and military ties with Russia and China.
AP Explains: Why Serbs are protesting against virus lockdown
Read full article: AP Explains: Why Serbs are protesting against virus lockdownFILE - In this Friday, July 10 2020 file photo, protesters clash with riot police on the steps of the Serbian parliament during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia. Some of the demonstrations turned violent, with protesters trying to storm the parliament building in the capital, Belgrade. The protests initially started July 7 when the president announced that Belgrade would be placed under a new three-day lockdown following a second wave of confirmed coronavirus infections. Nationalist and far-right groups in Serbia are opposed to EU membership and want closer ties with Russia instead. The Russian Foreign Ministry has vehemently denied any involvement in the latest protests in Serbia.
Kosovo’s Thaci strongly denies committing any war crimes
Read full article: Kosovo’s Thaci strongly denies committing any war crimesKosovo president Hashim Thaci speaks during a televised address to the nation, in Pristina, Kosovo, Monday, June 29, 2020. Kosovos president on Monday denied committing war crimes during and after a 1998-1999 armed conflict between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serbia and said he would resign if the indictment is confirmed by an international war crimes court. (AP Photo/Astrit Ibrahimi)
Serbia's leader not worried about losing power amid protests
Read full article: Serbia's leader not worried about losing power amid protestsPolice clashes with protesters in Belgrade, Serbia, on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)BELGRADE Serbia's president said Friday he's not worried about losing political power amid large protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis and hard-line rule, but instead expressed his fear about the spread of the virus by the demonstrators. If you dont understand this, and you want to bring some tycoons to power let me tell you this is not going to happen." With the peaceful protests last night, people showed in what kind of a country they want to live, the statement said. The spontaneous protests started on Tuesday when Vucic announced that Belgrade would be placed under a new three-day lockdown following a second wave of confirmed coronavirus infections.
A look at Serbia-Kosovo dispute as war crimes charges filed
Read full article: A look at Serbia-Kosovo dispute as war crimes charges filedKosovo President Hashim Thaci and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted Wednesday on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by an international court investigating their actions against ethnic Serbs and others during and after Kosovo's 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. (AP Photo/Zenel Zhinipotoku)BELGRADE An international prosecutor has indicted Kosovo's president and nine other former rebel fighters with war crimes and crimes against humanity during and after a 1998-99 armed conflict between the ethnic Albanian separatists and Serbia. The nation of 1.8 million is predominantly ethnic Albanian and includes ethnic Serb, Roma and smaller minority groups. Thousands of Serb civilians also fled with the Serbian army and police. HAVE THERE BEEN WAR CRIMES TRIALS BEFORE?
Ruling populists set to win Serbia vote amid virus concerns
Read full article: Ruling populists set to win Serbia vote amid virus concernsA police officer, wearing a mask to protect against coronavirus, guards the Serbian parliament building during a protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 20, 2020. Serbia is holding a parliamentary vote this weekend that takes place amid concerns over continuing spread of the new coronavirus and deep political divisions in the Balkan country. President Aleksandar Vucics Serbian Progressive Party appears set for a landslide victory, facing little challenge from the divided opposition. A U.S.-brokered Kosovo-Serbia summit is set in Washington on June 27, while EU officials have announced plans to restart Brussels-mediated negotiations. Serbia has refused to recognize Western-backed independence of Kosovo but has relied on Russia and China for the support in the dispute.
Bosnian war survivors protest Peter Handke's Nobel prize win
Read full article: Bosnian war survivors protest Peter Handke's Nobel prize winBosnian women whose male family members, including sons and husbands, perished in the Srebrenica massacre hold placards as they protest outside Swedish embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. Several dozen survivors of Bosnia's 1992-95 war staged a protest in Sarajevo to call on the Nobel Committee to reverse its decision to award the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature to Austria's Peter Handke. Placards read: 'to award Handke is equal awarding committed crime' and 'award for Hadke is award for Slobodan Milosevic'. Despite a U.N. court ruling to the contrary, Handke has persistently denied that genocide took place in Srebrenica. (Almir Razic/Fena Agency via AP)SARAJEVO Several dozen survivors of Bosnia's 1992-95 war have protested in Sarajevo, urging the Nobel Committee to reverse its decision to award the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature to Austrian writer Peter Handke.