Latest News from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia Politicians Cling to Their 'White Bread'
Bosnian authorities are debating whether to abolish "white bread", the name given to an official perk that grants top politicians the right to receive their salaries for a whole year after their mandates end.
Austria Jails Bosnian for Recruiting for ISIS
A court in Graz, Austria, on Thursday jailed a Bosnian citizen, Fikret Begic, to eight years in prison for recruiting volunteers for Islamic State, ISIS.
Croatian police arrested Begic, 49, originally from the town of Konjic but now living in Graz, in January 2015 in Slavonski Brod, while he was trying to cross the border with Bosnia.
Nikolic agrees to postpone Sarajevo visit for fall
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic "has accepted a proposal to postpone his visit to Sarajevo for the fall because of elections in Serbia."
This is what his press service announced on Friday, adding that Nikolic made this decision during a telephone conversation with member of the Presidency of Bosnia-and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic.
Bulgaria Climbs Five Positions to 70th Place in FIFA Ranking
The Bulgarian men's national football team climbed five positions in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking released on Thursday.
At present, Bulgaria occupies the 70th place jointly with the team of South Africa, with both teams having 500 points.
New Party Aims to Revive Tuzla's Civic Spirit
The people of Tuzla, the industrial town in northern Bosnia that gave birth to a major protest movement, will have the option of voting for a new civic party in the municipal elections in October.
Heroin Crossing Balkans to Europe, US Report
The latest annual report by the US State Department's International Strategy for Narcotics Control says drugs traffickers are using Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia to transport heroin from Afghanistan and Central Asia to Western Europe.
Albania Fears Becoming Part of 'Refugee Route'
Albania fears becoming part of the Balkan "refugee route", now that Macedonia has tightened border controls, leaving some 10,000 people trapped in Greece on their way to Western Europe.
Until now, the most-used route has run through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia, avoiding Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania.
Terrorist Threats Damage Tourism in Bosnia
Professionals in the tourist sector in Bosnia fear that the recent fall in visitor numbers may be due to the fact that international media increasingly link Bosnia and Herzegovina to the phenomenon of international terrorism and the Islamic State, ISIS.
CNR Book Fair to raise awareness of disabled
The 3rd CNR Book Fair will be held in Istanbul between March 4 and 13 with more than 900 events at the CNR EXPO Ye?ilköy.
Coming from 19 countries, including Germany, Mexico, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, Macedonia, Argentina, Columbia, 104 publishing houses will join the fair.
Migrants' possible new route would not include Serbia
German broadcaster n-tv is speculating that migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe from the Middle East "might find a new route."
The television published a drawing according to which migrants could in the future move from Greece toward Albania, and then toward Western Europe via Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia.
Bosnian Independence Day Shunned by Serb Authorities
Bosnia and Herzegovina is marking 24 years of independence but the annual holiday is opposed by the country’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska, where many wanted to remain part of Yugoslavia.
Experts Query Bosnia's Solid Growth Rate
Bosnia's Council of Minister has issued optimistic projections about the country's GDP growth in 2015, but experts say the reported increase has little to do with the real economy.
Serbia, RS to mark NDH and Jasenovac anniversaries
Serbia and the Serb Republic (RS) will together mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and of Jasenovac.
Beta agency reported this on Friday, saying that the announcement was made by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic after this meeting in Belgrade with Milorad Dodik, the president of the Serb entity (RS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Kosovo Issue Highlights Bosnian Foreign Policy Splits
Divergences on Bosnia's foreign policy priorities are growing between the Bosnian government and Republika Srpska, the country's Serb-dominated entity, experts say.
"Although Republika Srpska is just an entity inside Bosnia, they have different perceptions of their foreign policy goals," Sead Turcalo, a political sciences professor in Sarajevo, told BIRN on Monday.
Vienna meeting concludes with agreement for ‘close alliance’ to reduce refugee flows
The foreign and interior ministers of the nine countries along Western Balkan Route, excluding Greece, that participated in Vienna meeting on refugee issue called by Austria agreed to forge a “close alliance” so as to drastically reduce refugee flows,