Defiant up until the end of his five-year trial, Ratko Mladic desperately tried to postpone the verdict but it’s unlikely to further post-war reconciliation in Bosnia, writes Daria Sito-Sucic    

The Balkans have become embroiled in a trade war over agricultural health checks after Croatia raised import fees on some farm products by around 220%, triggering countermeasures by Serbia and threats from others.

US Vice President Mike Pence has said the future of Europe's Balkan nations is in the West, reaffirming Washington's commitment to the region as Russia works to assert its historical influence there.

If you want to rub shoulders with the Pope, hobnob with high-powered diplomats and make a Baywatch star a countess, then there’s only one thing to do, pretend you are a prince of a Balkan country, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

Having spent a week in rural Greece, visiting co-operatives, farms, food processing factories, and communities, the phrase necessity breeds ingenuity seems apt.

Embracing history but charting a new path is the message for Ireland’s U17s hopefuls from their manager Colin O’Brien as they begin their Euro finals odyssey against Serbia in Croatia today.

In September, Moria refugee camp was burned to the ground by the very refugees it was supposed to house. Kevin O’Regan recently visited the camp and explores the system of fear, inadequacy, and deprivation of human rights that led to this violent outburst. He asks why it is that grassroots initiatives can meet the needs of refugees whereas government-run camps are woefully, perhaps wilfully, lacking

We look at some of the best offerings from the Cork Film Fesitval.

It’s a long, straight motorway, cutting through endless fields of corn, which takes you from the centre of Belgrade to Stara Pazova where, tucked away at the back of a small industrial park, resides the modern home of Serbian football, a state of the art training complex opened in 2011.

Xenophobia and the resurgence of hard-line nationalists reflect disappointment with the unification project, and much of the blame lies with an economically imperialist and arrogant Germany and with the unwillingness of other member states to take the lead, says Lucian Kim

After first opening the doors of Germany to migrants in need of help, pressure from within and across the rest of Europe has forced Angela Merkel into an uneasy agreement with Turkey. Despite the fact that it seems to be working, it may damage her legacy, says Leonid Bershidsky

Hundreds of migrants stranded at a makeshift Greek camp protested near the border with Macedonia yesterday, demanding the border be opened as they clung to hopes of making it into Europe.

EU officials have added last- minute changes to a pact with Turkey to halt the flow of migrants into Europe in an effort to make it legally watertight, but a standoff with Cyprus could yet scupper a deal at a summit.

Gardaí are continuing to hunt remaining members of a “very organised” foreign gang responsible for much of the copper cable theft in Ireland in recent years.

The EU plan to deal with migrants is a masterpiece that seeks to bridge the largely domestic fears of intransigent politicians in the EU and Turkey, writes Ann Cahill Europe Correspondent

EU Council president Donald Tusk told illegal economic migrants not to risk their lives or money on a perilous trip to Europe “for nothing” but said unilateral actions by European Union states to deal with the crisis must stop.

Bosnia is applying for membership of the European Union in the hope of catching up with its neighbours on the EU path.

Hundreds of Moroccans, Algerians, and Pakistanis tried to storm the border between Greece and Macedonia, tearing down part of the barbed wire fence at the crossing and demanding to be allowed to carry on into northern Europe.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Croatia’s conservative opposition has won the Balkan country’s first parliamentary election since joining the European Union in 2013, but without enough votes to rule alone.

EU and Balkan leaders may have agreed a new plan at the weekend to tackle the refugee crisis but in the meantime the steady flow of migrants continues.

Amid chaotic scenes at its border with Serbia, Croatia said it could not cope with a flood of refugees seeking a new route into the EU after Hungary kept them out by erecting a fence and using tear gas and water cannon against them.

Europe has failed to agree how to share the burden of refugees daily entering the EU, as five countries either shut their borders or introduced border controls, leaving thousands of migrants in limbo and increasing pressure on other countries.

It looks possible that EU ministers will agree on asylum seeker numbers on Monday, writes European Correspondent Ann Cahill

Hundreds of refugees broke out of a Hungarian border camp and others set off on foot from Budapest as authorities scrambled to contain a crisis that has brought Europe’s asylum system to breaking point.

Thousands of refugees sit on the dirty mats that have come to define Budapest’s grand Keleti station. Many have travelled the now risky Balkan route through Macedonia, Serbia, and finally Hungary, hoping to link up with family and friends in Germany and Austria.

The top security officials of Germany, France and Britain are pressing for better processing of migrants arriving in southern Europe and for a European Union-wide list of countries considered safe.

Macedonian police special forces have fired stun grenades to disperse thousands of migrants stuck in a no-man s land at the border with Greece.

Thousands of Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis travel from Greece to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 

Migrants in Calais are being warned Britain’s streets are “not paved with gold” as part of a new £7m (€10m) initiative.

Ireland was described as “a hero” and an example to other countries for agreeing to take more than 1,000 migrants from war-torn regions as the EU struggled to find temporary homes for thousands more.

THE terror organisation Islamic State yesterday claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks on two mosques in Yemen, killing at least 87 people and wounding 260 more.

Serbia has agreed a three-year precautionary loan deal with the IMF worth around €1bn, ending uncertainty that had weighed on the dinar currency.