Balkan Nations

Montenegro's government on Thursday defended its contribution to peace in response to a verbal attack from US President Donald Trump, who said this week that the tiny Balkan nation's "aggressive" people were capable of triggering "World War III".

Serbian police say they have arrested a man after finding 34 migrants in his house in a Belgrade suburb.

A man from Yemen who spent the past 14 years in custody at Guantanamo Bay has been freed and sent to the Balkan nation of Montenegro, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, marking the start of what is expected to be a new round of releases from the US base in Cuba.

US Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute Sunday to Albania's efforts as part of the coalition fighting Islamic State jihadists and said he was encouraged by the Balkan nation's attempts to fight corruption.

Asylum seekers in Sweden have begun moving into the first tent camp set up for them, despite wintry temperatures as the country struggles to accommodate the large number of migrants arriving, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported today.

NATO is a defensive alliance and its decision to enlarge into the Balkans is not directed at Russia or any other nation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said today after NATO invited Montenegro to join.

UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said today that people fleeing violence and war must not be shunned amid growing fears of terrorism after the deadly Paris attacks.

A passport found near the body of one of the Stade de France suicide bombers may have belonged to a Syrian regime soldier killed several months ago, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Slovenia's parliament is expected to approve changes to its laws later today to enable the army to help police guard the border, as thousands of migrants flooded into the country from Croatia after Hungary sealed off its border.

A top EU official said on Friday that Balkan nations were not a "parking lot" for migrants and pledged to fully defend their interests.

The United Nations' highest court ruled on Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other's populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Genocide, of which Croatia and Serbia have accused each other before the UN's highest court, is the gravest crime in international humanitarian law - and also the most difficult to prove.

Romanians go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new leader as President Traian Basescu steps down after 10 years. Prime Minister Victor Ponta is favored to win over challengers who include a city mayor and a glamorous lawyer. Here's a look at this Balkan nation's vote:

Pope Francis denounced how religion has been "perverted" to justify violence as he arrived in Albania to highlight a Balkan nation that endured brutal religious oppression but where Christians and Muslims now live and work together.

Montenegro's government on Thursday defended its contribution to peace in response to a verbal attack from US President Donald Trump, who said this week that the tiny Balkan nation's "aggressive" people were capable of triggering "World War III".

Serbian police say they have arrested a man after finding 34 migrants in his house in a Belgrade suburb.

A man from Yemen who spent the past 14 years in custody at Guantanamo Bay has been freed and sent to the Balkan nation of Montenegro, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, marking the start of what is expected to be a new round of releases from the US base in Cuba.

US Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute Sunday to Albania's efforts as part of the coalition fighting Islamic State jihadists and said he was encouraged by the Balkan nation's attempts to fight corruption.

Asylum seekers in Sweden have begun moving into the first tent camp set up for them, despite wintry temperatures as the country struggles to accommodate the large number of migrants arriving, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported today.

NATO is a defensive alliance and its decision to enlarge into the Balkans is not directed at Russia or any other nation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said today after NATO invited Montenegro to join.

UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said today that people fleeing violence and war must not be shunned amid growing fears of terrorism after the deadly Paris attacks.

A passport found near the body of one of the Stade de France suicide bombers may have belonged to a Syrian regime soldier killed several months ago, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Slovenia's parliament is expected to approve changes to its laws later today to enable the army to help police guard the border, as thousands of migrants flooded into the country from Croatia after Hungary sealed off its border.

A top EU official said on Friday that Balkan nations were not a "parking lot" for migrants and pledged to fully defend their interests.

The United Nations' highest court ruled on Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other's populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Genocide, of which Croatia and Serbia have accused each other before the UN's highest court, is the gravest crime in international humanitarian law - and also the most difficult to prove.

Romanians go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new leader as President Traian Basescu steps down after 10 years. Prime Minister Victor Ponta is favored to win over challengers who include a city mayor and a glamorous lawyer. Here's a look at this Balkan nation's vote:

Pope Francis denounced how religion has been "perverted" to justify violence as he arrived in Albania to highlight a Balkan nation that endured brutal religious oppression but where Christians and Muslims now live and work together.