Social Democrats

The Serbian Democratic Party, the main opposition party in Republika Srpska, has lost control of the key bastion of Bijeljina following a controversial session of the town council.

Experts worry that Zoran MIlanovic's comfortable victory of his fourth term as party president of Croatia's strongest opposition party, the centre-left Social Democratic Party, SDP, may signal a monopoly of power within the party.

Leaders of opposition LDP and SDP Cedomir Jovanovic and Boris Tadic says that citizens and journalists in Serbia now fear the consequences of their opinions.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he is planning a new law that will require refugees to learn German and integrate into society, or else lose their permanent right of residence. 

Citizens gathered on Friday in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica in support of leader of the Citizens' Initiative SDP Oliver Ivanovic.

He was last week found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to nine years in prison.

A plot to unseat Milo Djukanovic as Prime Minister of Montenegro failed to gain enough votes in parliament on Wednesday night, after 42 of a total of 81 MPs voted against the motion of no-confidence - which Djakanovic himself had called.

Leader of the Citizen Initiative SDP Oliver Ivanovic will remain under house arrest for another month, until February 17.

Ivanovic's spouse Milena Popovic Ivanovic said in a statement to Tanjug that the measure had this time been extended for one month, and not for two, adding that the ruling would be probably delivered on Thursday.

With a new centre-right government on the way, Milanovic, who is still Croatia's acting prime minister, faces the possibility of being forced to step down from the presidency of his centre-left Social Democratic Party, SDP.

According to ballots cast and counted at 31 per cent of polling stations in the country, the opposition centre-right coalition led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, is ahead of the governing centre-left coalition the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Sunday's general election.

Turkey will hold its fourth election in 20 months on Nov. 1. Unfortunately there is no certainty that this will be the last election in such a string, or that a government will be formed.