Record flooding in the Balkans has left least 20 people dead in Serbia and Bosnia and is forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, authorities said.

As Serbia’s parliament prepared to elect Ivica Dacic as prime minister, the former wartime spokesman for Slobodan Milosevic tried to dispel concern that his government could push this country back into the nationalism of the late strongman’s era.

Thousands of riot police were deployed in Belgrade today preparing for a huge demonstration in support of jailed Radovan Karadzic.

Nationalists were planning a huge anti-government rally in Serbia's capital today as Radovan Karadzic's lawyer predicted the government will try to whisk the arrested war crimes suspect off to the UN tribunal before the protest.

Another alleged ally of top UN war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has been detained on suspicion of helping the general to evade arrest, a lawyer said today.

Serbia has until the end of the month to capture fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, or it could face European Union sanctions, the foreign minister said today.

SERBIA’S ruling conservative coalition appears to have suffered a severe blow in local elections.

Serbs were today choosing local leaders in key elections expected to be a tight race between pro-Western reformers and loyalists of former President Slobodan Milosevic.

Serbian presidential elections failed for the third time in a year today, triggering a major political crisis in the Balkan republic.