• Serb President, Kosovo Albanians to talk
• Montenegro poised to join United Nations
• Serbia's government recognises Montenegro

• Yugoslav wars left population heavily armed
• Bombings inflame tensions in Kosovo
• Gypsy women sue the Czech government

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Serb President, Kosovo Albanians to talk
23 July 2006 - Serbian President Boris Tadic announced he will meet with ethnic Albanian leaders of the breakaway Kosovo province. (more)

Montenegro poised to join United Nations
23 June 2006 - The UN Security Council has taken the first step toward making the newly independent nation of Montenegro the 192nd member of the United Nations. (more)

Serbia's government recognises Montenegro
16 June 2006 - The Serbian government has recognised newly independent Montenegro, and said it would establish diplomatic ties with its former partner in the now defunct Serbia-Montenegro union. (more)

Serbia accepts Montenegro's independence
24 May 2006 - Serbia's President has said that although he supported the preservation of a joint state, he recognizes the 'expression of the free will of the Montenegrin citizens' and the results of the independence vote that will separate Montenegro from Serbia. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Yugoslav wars left population heavily armed
9 April 2013 - The wars from 1991 to 1999 as Yugoslavia broke up took up to 200,000 lives, turned millions into refugees, and left much of the region's people traumatized and heavily armed. It was the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. The millions of weapons that remained in possession of civilians after the fighting have caused fatalities every week, as traumatized former soldiers either shoot family members or commit suicide or children find guns at home and die while playing with them. All of the seven new countries that emerged have banned civilians from owning weapons, but with varying degrees of success: Serbia, for instance, has the fifth-highest number of weapons per capita in the world. (more)

Bombings inflame tensions in Kosovo
23 September 2006 - As Kosovo enters the final phase of UN-brokered talks that many believe will give it independence from Serbia, recurrent explosions are rattling nerves, and raising troubling questions about what lies in store for a region trying to put atrocities and animosities behind it. (more)

Gypsy women sue the Czech government
17 June 2006 - Gipsy women allege that forced sterilization is still going on in the Czech Republic. (more)

Montenegro deeply split ahead of vote
21 May 2006 - Voters in Montenegro are deciding whether to separate from Yugoslavia. The division, which goes deep into Montenegro's history, has split families, friends, and towns. (more)

Serbian talks with European Union face suspension
2 May 2006 - A top Serbian official acknowledged Monday that the European Union will likely suspend aid and trade talks with Serbia after Belgrade missed the bloc's deadline for capturing war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic. (more)

Montenegro proposes split from Serbia
23 February 2005 - Montenegro proposed a final split from Serbia on Tuesday, suggesting that the two former Yugoslav republics recognize each other as sovereign states. The Montenegrins suggested that Serbia inherit the current Serbia-Montenegro seats in international organizations, while Montenegro would seek membership as a new country. (more)