Human rights activist Paul Gordon Lauren says moral outrage alone is not enough, action is crucial, writes Dan Buckley

Slobodan Milosevic’s former spokesman became Serbia’s new prime minister today, promising to promote reconciliation in the Balkans after his nomination triggered fears of resurgent nationalism in the volatile region.

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.

General Ratko Mladic threatened to wipe out the civilian populations of enclaves in eastern Bosnia in a chilling foreshadowing of the Srebrenica massacre, a former United Nations official told the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic won the Serbian presidency, a result that adds to the political turmoil in the Balkan country and could slow down its attempts to join the European Union.

Nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic won the Serbian presidency tonight, a result that adds to the political turmoil in the Balkan country and could slow down its attempts to join the European Union.

Ratko Mladic was a shadow of the swaggering general who once “held Sarajevo in the palm of his hand” during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war as his long-awaited genocide trial opened – but he still managed to inflame Bosnia’s festering war wounds with the flick of his hand.

Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic goes on trial this week in a case that will establish if he was responsible for some of the worst atrocities in Europe since Second World War.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was today found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity by supporting brutal Sierra Leone rebels in return for blood diamonds.

Judges at an international war crimes tribunal have begun delivering landmark judgments in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

European Union leaders formally made Serbia a candidate for membership in the bloc tonight, in a remarkable turnaround for a country considered a pariah just over a decade ago.

Former Yugoslavia's last Prime Minister Ante Markovic, who tried to prevent the country's bloody break-up in the 1990s, has died. He was 87.

MUAMMAR GADDAFI’S death means a long and complex trial that could have divided Libya and embarrassed Western governments and oil firms will be avoided.

The former chief of the Yugoslav army has been jailed for 27 years for aiding Bosnian Serb forces responsible for the Srebrenica massacre and deadly four-year campaign of shelling and sniping in Sarajevo.

Goran Hadzic, the last remaining fugitive sought by the UN war crimes court, has been arrested by Serbian authorities.

FORMER Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic was extradited to the Netherlands yesterday to face genocide charges at the UN war crimes tribunal after 16 years on the run.

Serbia’s president Boris Tadic said it is time for the European Union to do its part by boosting his nation’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold.

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal is fully equipped to deal with any health issues suffered by genocide suspect Ratko Mladic when he is extradited to stand trial in The Hague, a spokeswoman said.

RATKO Mladic was the last of three Serbian leaders wanted for war crimes following the capture of Radovan Karadzic and Slobodan Milosevic.

BOSNIAN Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic was arrested in Serbia yesterday after years on the run from international genocide charges, opening the way for the state to approach the European mainstream.

Ratko Mladic, the ruthless Bosnian Serb military leader charged with orchestrating Europe’s worst massacre of civilians since the Second World War, was arrested at a relative’s home in a tiny Serbian village today after a 16-year hunt.

MILITARY targets will grow harder to hit and the risk of deadly errors will increase as Western nations pursue their air campaign over Libya, with no guarantee of stopping Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in their tracks.

EVEN among the long, sad litany of betrayals thrown up by World War II, the calculated abandonment of the Polish resistance after they began the Warsaw uprising in August 1944 stands out.

The leader of Serbia’s nationalist opposition today threatened to “blockade” the capital with mass rallies unless his demands for early elections are met.

Serbia’s foreign minister warned that an international court ruling backing the independence declaration by Kosovo opened a “Pandora’s box” for secessionist movements around the world.

Serbia’s foreign minister has said that the upcoming ruling by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence will create “an unprecedented opportunity” for compromise between rival Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

A mass grave has been discovered in Serbia, apparently containing the bodies of Kosovo Albanians, officials said today.

Serbian MPs narrowly approved a declaration condemning the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, in a bid to distance the country from the past warmongering under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Serbia has paid €250,000 in compensation to the family of a former president killed under orders from late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a government official said today.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused of Europe’s worst genocide since the Holocaust, today claimed his people were only defending themselves against Islamic fundamentalists.

RADOVAN KARADZIC appeared at his UN war crimes trial yesterday for the first time since it began last week, claiming his “fundamental rights have been violated” by judges who started without him.

NOTING the inaccuracies in Steven King’s column on Radovan Karadzic and the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s (October 28), I feel compelled to outline a few historical facts.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appeared at his UN war crimes trial today for the first time since the case began.

RADOVAN KARADZIC stands indicted of 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

ONE of the biggest and most keenly awaited trials of the past half century opened on Monday but without the benefit of the defendant. The infamous Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serbs’ political leader during the Bosnian war of 1992-’95 which left at least 100,000 dead, refused to attend because he said he needs more time to prepare his defence.

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal announced today it has approved the early release from prison of former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic after she served two-thirds of her 11-year sentence for persecution.

The former speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament will hear today if United Nations judges will overturn his conviction for orchestrating ethnic cleansing campaigns that killed thousands of Muslims and Croats.

UN judges yesterday acquitted former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic of ordering a deadly campaign of terror against Kosovo Albanians, and ordered him released from custody.

Former Serb President Milan Milutinovic was today cleared of ordering a deadly campaign of terror by Serb forces against Kosovo Albanians in 1999.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen paid warm tribute to the work of Irish peacekeepers yesterday, as he became the first Taoiseach to pay a Christmas visit to members of the defence forces abroad.

The United Nations Security Council gave the go-ahead today for the deployment of a European Union mission throughout Kosovo under the international organisation’s umbrella.

A former Yugoslav army chief will go on trial at The Hague today for his alleged role in atrocities in Bosnia including the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo.

Scottish judge Iain Bonomy was today appointed to oversee preparations for the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

THE term Kangaroo Court takes on a new meaning at Guantanamo.