News archive of April 2017

COLMAR - The investigative chamber of the appeals court in Colmar, France, on Thursday rejected a Serbian extradition request for Ramus Haradinaj, a former commander of the "Kosovo Liberation Army", and lifted a ban on his leaving France, providing no reasoning for the decision.

NOVI SAD - Partizan Belgrade drew 0-0 with Vojvodina Novi Sad away from home in Wednesday's first leg of the Serbian football cup semi-finals after Red Star Belgrade defeated Cukaricki 4-1 earlier in the day.

In a hectic game in front of 10,000 spectators at the Karadjordje Stadium, Vojvodina missed two great chances through Nenad Trujic and Aleksandar Palocevic.

OSLO - Stability of the Western Balkans is substantial for development of all countries in the region and overall stability in Europe, Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic and his Norwegian counterpart Borge Brende said Wednesday.

Guennol Stargazer, a 5,000-year-old Anatolian marble female figure that was smuggled from Turkey, was sold for $14,5 million at a New York auction on April 28. 

The sale was protested by Turks who gathered outside the auction house. 

Dozens of firefighters on the Ionian island of Zakynthos were battling a large blaze that broke out earlier in the day in a pine forest, consuming at least 60 hectares before nightfall suspended intensive efforts.

Strong winds were stoking the blaze and making it difficult for firefighting crews at Maries to contain the flames to they would not reach residential areas.

Neviana Vladinova of Bulgaria won the bronze in the all-around at the rhythmic gymnastics World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. With a total score of 68.400 she is third. Vladinova received the highest score for her clubs routine - 17.700, BNR reported.

The gold went to Arina Averina, Russia, and the silver - to another Russian, Aleksandra Soldatova.

The political crisis in Macedonia has been discussed by Bulagrian President Rumen Radev, European Council President Donald Tusk and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, BNR reported.

European Union leaders promised on Saturday to embrace the British province of Northern Ireland into the EU if a referendum unites it with the Republic of Ireland, Reuters reports.

The government was confident on Friday that negotiations with the country's creditors could be wrapped up soon.

Speaking to Sto Kokkino FM on Friday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said he believed Greek officials and foreign auditors will have finalized "complementary" agreements with Greece's creditors by Sunday.

Visitors to downtown Athens's Syntagma Square will soon be able to test their mettle at a "haunted house" offering an immersive excursion into our contemporary culture of fear, Omonia will disappear for a couple of days, and a warehouse in Piraeus will be transformed into the labyrinthine lair of the dreaded Minotaur to depict the perilous journey of migrants and refugees: all this and more at