Latest News from Bosnia and Herzegovina

BELGRADE - The war crimes chamber of the Belgrade Appellate Court has increased the sentence delivered to former member of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Djuro Tadic for participation in war crimes in the village of Duljci near Bihac in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) to 13 years.

MPs in the mainly Serbian entity of Bosnia, Republika Srpska, will discuss the entity budget for next year at a session scheduled for the last days of December.

The budget for 2015 is set at 2.033 million KM, or 1.039 million euro, which is around 65 million euro less than this year's.

Leaders of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, the main Bosniak party in Bosnia, on December 18 named Denis Zvizdic as the next president of the Council of Ministers, in effect, Bosnia's next Prime Minister.

Police in Bosnia's Federation entity on December 17 arrested Hamdija Lipovaca, Prime Minister of the Una-Sana canton, and a top official of the Social Democratic Party. 

The case concerns allegations of corruption dating from the time when he was mayor of the northwestern city of Bihac.

BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska (RS) has a new government, headed by Zeljka Cvijanovic, who has embarked on her second term as prime minister.

At a parliamentary session that ended late Wednesday, 44 MPs voted for the government and 37 voted against. Also elected were the deputy parliament speakers, the RTRS reported.

Croat PM "sends message to Serbia, misses chance with China"

BELGRADE -- The arrival of the Chinese premier to Serbia heralds serious intentions to strengthen ties with European countries, the Croatian daily Jutarnji List writes.

The Democratic Front, DF, one of the parties that did best in Bosnia's October elections, said it had halted talks with the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, on forming a cantonal government in Sarajevo, accusing the SDA was employing dozens of its own people in the new cantonal administration.