Bosnia

In Bosnia, whose cities have long been listed among the most polluted in Europe, the statistics are public knowledge. It's estimated that in this country whose main source of energy are its own fossil fuels, mainly lignite, poor air quality causes the death of 3,300 people annually according to the World Bank.

That year, President George W. Bush was running for re-election and opposed military intervention in Bosnia. His top foreign policy officials, including Secretary of State James Baker and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, were traditional "realists", concerned with America's national interests and opposed to interventions where those interests were not at stake.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, extended the list of sanctioned individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, slapping sanctions on a former chief of the Intelligence Security Agency, Osman "Osmica" Mehmedagic and two others. 

In his view, Italy needs to strengthen its political, diplomatic and military presence in the region. He believes Italy has many competitors among both its allies and potential adversaries that are ready to exploit the opportunities offered by the context if they get a chance. 

Bled – President Borut Pahor reiterated his appeal for the speedy integration of Western Balkans countries in the EU as he argued in an address to the Bled Strategic Forum that they should not be allowed to fall under Russia’s sphere of influence should new bloc divisions occur.

Human Rights Watch has again drawn attention to the problem of air pollution in Bosnian cities. "Nine per cent of the country's deaths are due to air pollution and an estimated 3,300 people die prematurely every year as a result of exposure to ambient PM2.5 air pollution," an HRW report published on Monday says. 

Photo: Sam McGhee/Unsplash.com

The threats were sent from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from Turkey, on June 28, and since then, after BIRN published an investigation into the Grey Wolves organisation's branch and its activities in Bosnia.

Kuloglija and Buyuk continued to receive messages on their phones with intimidating content after the publication of the article.

Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency and head of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the ruling party in Republika Srpska, has come under criticism after suggesting that religious officials' salaries should be paid by the entity.

Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader and Serbian member of the tripartite state presidency, will not be running for a second mandate in October, he has clarified.

Instead, Dodik, who has been sanctioned twice by the US and once by the UK, will be running for the post of president of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska.

To be sure, the strategy of working with elected officials has succeeded in the past when international officials and diplomats have taken a firm approach. This was especially so during the years up until 2006.