The coalitions led by Serbia's Democratic Party (DS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) were close to reaching an agreement on forming a cabinet, Serbian daily Blic said on May 15, as quoted by Serbian broadcaster B92. According to Blic, the DS, which is headed by Serbian president Boris Tadic, has offered Socialist leader Ivica Dacic the position of deputy prime minister. Dacic, for his part, has requested the rehabilitation of infamous former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's family in return for his cooperation and has asked that the request sent to Russia to extradite Milosevic's wife and son be dropped. The DS, in return, have asked for the Socialists to fully cooperate with the Hague war crimes tribunal, Blic said. read more

President George W. Bush intended to nominate John Beyrle, the current US ambassador to Bulgaria, to be "ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Russian Federation," the White House said in a statement on May 13. Beyrle has been tipped since January to fill the vacancy created by the nomination of incumbent William Burns as the new under secretary for political affairs after the retirement of Nicholas Burns (no relation). read more

Serbian Radicals (SRS), currently headed by deputy leader Tomislav Nikolic, and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) – New Serbia (NS) coalition, led by outgoing Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica reached on May 13 a draft agreement on the character and goals of the future Serbian government, DSS spokesperson Andreja Mladenović told reporters, as quoted by Serbian broadcaster B92. Mladenović also said that the DSS would officially meet representatives of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) on May 13 for talks on forming the next cabinet. read more

The coalition of parties headlined by president Boris Tadić' Democratic party (DS), won the Serbian parliamentary election on May 11, according to the preliminary data released by the country's election body RIK, but faces difficult talks to form the new government. The coalition, which ran under the name For a European Serbia, won 38.75 per cent, RIK said, having counted 97.8 per cent of all ballots. That would give it 102 MPs in the 250-seat assembly. read more

An Israeli committee that oversees the implementation of the country’s 1957 law on compensation for persecution by Nazis during the Holocaust ruled on May 11 that any Jew who lived under curfew in Bulgaria and Romania in World War 2 would be classified as a survivor, even though they were not sent to death camps. Reporting the decision, Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz and news agency ynetnews said that the decision could have an impact on thousands of Jews in Bulgaria and Romania. read more

Security is being beefed up in the run-up to the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of England and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, to Turkey on May 13 on an official visit. The 82-year-old monarch and her 86-year-old husband have accepted an invitation from President Abdullah Gül. The Queen will be visiting Turkey for inly the second time; her first visit was back in 1971. read more

Serbian president Boris Tadic claimed victory in the parliamentary elections on behalf of the pro-Western coalition of parties headlined by his own Democrats (DS), claiming that it would form the next government after the snap polls held on May 11. With one third of the votes counted, the DS coalition was in the lead with 36.7 per cent, or 102 seats in the 250-seat assembly. Its biggest rival, the Radicals (SRS), who advocate cutting all ties with the European Union over the recognition of Kosovo by the majority of the bloc's countries, was second with 28.6 per cent and 80 seats, data from the electoral commission showed, as quoted by private broadcaster B92. read more

Pending official results expected in the next two days, as polls closed in Serbia’s May 11 elections, the outcome was expected to be close with a relatively low turnout seen as likely to boost nationalist forces seeking to turn the country’s back on the West. The snap parliamentary elections were held on a date originally meant only for local elections, and were called after the Serbian government foundered over divisions about the country’s possible future with the European Union. Serbia’s EU policy hit turbulence after Kosovo declared independence on February 17 2008. read more

Early indications in Serbia’s May 11 elections were that voter turnout would be higher than in recent elections, Serbian and international news agencies reported. Voting was reported to be proceeding calmly, and no problems were reported as Serbs in northern Kosovo’s Mitrovico joined in voting. Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence on February 17, has been backed by several Western countries in opposing the inclusion of its territory in voting for Serbian elections. read more

On May 7 2008, Macedonia and the US inked a declaration on strategic partnership, world news agencies reported. The agreement expressed the two countries' intention to develop their cooperation in the fields of security, economy and culture, as well as to extend their military ties. read more