Herzegovina

Austria's new government, made up of the centre-right People's Party and the far-right Freedom Party, has already been the subject of warnings that it might stray from European values, but analysts said they don't expect major shifts in the way the country treats the Balkans.

The state electoral commission last week put the statements about the assets owned by some politicians back on its website, but critics expressed suspicions about its accuracy because there is no one to check the data.

Only the statements submitted by elected representatives like MPs are on the site; the assets of appointed representatives like government ministers remain private.

A man armed with a knife has driven a car into people in the southern German city of Heidelberg, killing one pedestrian and injuring two others, according to police. The suspect was shot after a short standoff with officers and taken to the hospital.

A broad-reaching new project to bring Bosnia into line with European anti-discrimination norms launches on Wednesday.

"Various forms of discrimination remain one of the most serious human rights issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina," said a statement by the Council of Europe, which launched the project in partnership with the European Union.

Bosnian Serb parties are feuding over 35 million euros that Russia has offered to Republika Srpska, to clear its share of the foreign debt that Bosnia owed the old USSR.

The total debt Bosnia owes the Soviet Union is about 125.2 million US dollars [around 110 million euros].

Bosnia's High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, which oversees the judiciary, on Wednesday confirmed its previous decision to prohibit employees in judicial institutions from wearing religious symbols, including the hijab - the headscarf used by Muslim women.

Boris Grubesic, spokesperson of the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told BIRN on Wednesday that the investigation against Elvir Muratovic, Kemal Muric, Semir Salkovic, Zulfo Alajbegovic, Edin Tabakovic, Darko Peco, Elvir Masic and Adis Kesan will end soon.

The eight men were arrested late last year on suspicion of planning terrorist acts.

Special police in Bosnia's Federation entity have swooped on a number of suspected terrorists in a major roundup of groups and individuals suspected of connections with Islamist extremists.

"A police action is currently ongoing against terrorism under the mandate of the Bosnian Prosecution," Boris Grubesic, the spokesperson of the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told BIRN.

The number of Bosnian parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, claiming that it might damage their health, is increasing, experts warn.

Claims that Enes Omeragic, the man who shot dead two Bosnian soldiers on Wednesday, was part of a radical islamist group, are unlikely, police in the Canton of Sarajevo said.

Muhamed Meco, his brother-in-law, was one of the suspected jihadist recruiters arrested last year in a police operation codenamed Damask.