Former Serbian province Kosovo becomes 186th member of World Bank, International Monetary Fund

October 7th, 2009 ISTANBUL - The annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund was formally concluded Wednesday in Istanbul with an appeal to nations to pursue reforms while dealing with the global economic crisis. In remarks wrapping up the conference attended by finance ministers, central bank governors and other top officials from 186 countries, plenary session chairman Nguyen Van Giau said further international cooperation was foreseen to master the problems.

October 4th, 2009 ISTANBUL - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called for setting up a regional financial market for the Middle East and East Asia following the failure of efforts to globalise financial services, WAM news agency reported Sunday. The recommendation was made by Sultan bin Nasser Al Suweidi, governor of the UAE Central Bank, while addressing the meeting of governors of central banks and monetary agencies of member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which took place at the sidelines of the annual International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting being hosted by Turkey.

September 25th, 2009 Serbia seeks summit of developing nationsUNITED NATIONS — Serbia is proposing to host a summit of the 120-member Nonaligned Movement, which has angered the United States with its opposition to the invasion of Iraq and its support for Iran and Cuba. Serbian President Boris Tadic invited on Friday leaders of nonaligned countries to meet in the Serbian capital of Belgrade to mark the movement's first summit held at the same venue in 1961.

September 23rd, 2009 Serbia tries Kosovo ex-rebels for war crimesBELGRADE, Serbia — Seventeen former Kosovo rebels went on trial Wednesday before the Serbian war crimes court, charged with murder, rape and torture of Serb civilians in 1999. Nine of the men were arrested in December in a predominantly Albanian-populated region of Serbia bordering Kosovo.

September 23rd, 2009 Kosovo: EU police arrest 4 Serb war crime suspectsPRISTINA, Kosovo — Four Serbs were arrested Wednesday under suspicion of committing war crimes against ethnic Albanian civilians during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, EU police said. NATO peacekeepers and Kosovo police also took part in the arrests in eastern Kosovo, said Karin Limdal, spokesman for the EU's 2,000-strong police and justice mission in Kosovo.

August 3rd, 2009 EU probing alleged Balkan organ traffickingBELGRADE, Serbia — Europe's top human rights watchdog launched a probe Monday into Serb allegations that ethnic Albanian guerrillas kidnapped Serb civilians during Kosovo's war, then removed their organs and sold the body parts on the black market. Leading the probe is Dick Marty, a Swiss senator representing the Council of Europe.

June 26th, 2009 Serbia charges Kosovo ex-rebels for war crimesBELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian prosecutors filed war crimes charges on Friday against 17 former Kosovo guerrillas for the alleged murder, rape and torture of Serb civilians. The indictment said the suspects are charged in connection with the kidnapping of 159 Serbs and the deaths of at least 51 of them in the eastern Kosovo town of Gnjilane in the wake of Kosovo's 1998-99 war.

June 25th, 2009 Kosovo ex-prime minister released from detentionSOFIA, Bulgaria — A Bulgarian court released Kosovo's former prime minister Thursday, two days after he was detained on an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia for alleged war crimes. The district court in the western city of Kyustendil decided to release Agim Ceku from custody.

May 9th, 2009 Iceland cuts interest rates to 13 percentLONDON — Iceland's central bank has cut official interest rates by 2.5 percentage points to 13 percent to help the country's troubled economy. It is the third cut in rates this year by the central bank, called Sedlabanki.

April 27th, 2009 Activists protest against IMF, World BankWASHINGTON — Protesters upset with how world leaders have handled global economic woes have completed their rally near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. Dozens of demonstrators marched several blocks Sunday afternoon from Dupont Circle to a park across from the World Bank building.

April 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - India Saturday called for empowering the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with resources, better governance, greater accountability and a redefined mandate for orchestrating efforts to overcome the daunting challenge posed by the global economic crisis. 'Much depends on a quick and internationally coordinated approach to a daunting, but not an insurmountable, challenge,' Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said as the Fund and World Bank begin their twice-yearly meetings here.

April 23rd, 2009 4 Serbs found guilty in Kosovo massacreBELGRADE, Serbia — A war crimes court on Thursday found four former Serbian policemen guilty of the massacre of 48 Kosovo Albanians and sentenced them to up to 20 years in prison. The Serbian court's judges said the victims of the worst single massacre of civilians during the 1998-99 Kosovo war included 14 children, two infants, a pregnant woman and a 100-year-old woman.

April 23rd, 2009 Amnesty: NATO bombing of Serbian TV 'war crime'BELGRADE, Serbia — An international human rights group demanded Thursday that NATO be held accountable for civilian casualties in the bombing of Serbia's state television headquarters a decade ago, calling the attack a "war crime." Sixteen civilians were killed and 16 others injured during the attack on April 23, 1999, on the headquarters and studios of Radio Television Serbia in central Belgrade. Amnesty International called on NATO and its member states to ensure independent investigations, full accountability and redress for victims and their families.

April 23rd, 2009 4 Serbs found guilty of Kosovo massacreBELGRADE, Serbia — A war crimes court on Thursday found four Serbian former policemen guilty of the massacre of 48 Kosovo Albanians and sentenced them to up to 20 years in prison. The Serbian court's judges said the victims of the worst single massacre of civilians during the 1998-99 Kosovo war included 14 children, two infants, a pregnant woman and a 100-year-old woman.

April 2nd, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday that China deserves the right to demand more say and representation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Brown told reporters after the G20 summit that China pledged to contribute $40 billion to the international financial institutions, while the European Union (EU) and Japan offered $100 billion respectively.