Latest news with #BosniaHerzegovina
RNZ News
13-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Europe: Srebrencia remembered, UK-France migrant deal examined
politics world 36 minutes ago Foreign correspondent Seamus Kearney talks about commemorations in Bosnia-Herzegovina to mark 30 years since the Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity in Europe since WWII. The European Commission is seeking more information about a controversial migrant deal struck between the UK and France. And EU officials have been taken by surprise over US President Trump's threat to impose 30% tariffs on EU goods.
Associated Press
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Thousands gather in Srebrenica on 30th anniversary of Europe's only acknowledged genocide since WWII
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of people from Bosnia and around the world gathered in Srebrenica to mark the 30th anniversary of a 1995 massacre there of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim boys and men, which has been acknowledged as Europe's only genocide after the Holocaust. Seven newly identified victims of the massacre — including two 19-year-old men — will be laid to rest in a collective funeral at a vast, ever-expanding cemetery near Srebrenica Friday, next to more than 6,000 victims already buried there. Such funerals are held annually for the victims who are still being unearthed from dozens of mass graves around the town. Relatives of the victims, however, often can bury only partial remains of their loved ones as they are typically found in several different mass graves, sometimes kilometers (miles) apart. Such was the case of Mirzeta Karic, who was waiting to bury her father. 'Thirty years of search and we are burying a bone,' she said, crying by her father's coffin which was wrapped in green cloth in accordance with Islamic tradition. 'I think it would be easier if I could bury all of him. What can I tell you, my father is one of the 50 (killed) from my entire family.' July 11, 1995, is the day when the killings started after Bosnian Serb fighters overran the eastern Bosnian enclave in the final months of the interethnic war in the Balkan country. After taking control of the town that was a protected U.N. safe zone during the war, Bosnian Serb fighters separated Bosniak Muslim men and boys from their families and brutally executed them in just several days. The bodies were then dumped in mass graves around Srebrenica which they later dug up with bulldozers, scattering the remains among other burial sites to hide the evidence of their war crimes. The U.N. General Assembly last year adopted a resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide on the July 11 anniversary. Scores of international officials and dignitaries are expected to attend the commemoration ceremonies and the funeral on Friday. On the eve of the anniversary, an exhibition was inaugurated displaying personal items belonging to the victims that were found in the mass graves over the years. The conflict in Bosnia erupted in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs took up arms in a rebellion against the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia and with an aim to create their own state and eventually unite with neighboring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions displaced before a U.S.-brokered peace agreement was reached in 1995. Bosnia remains ethnically split while both Bosnian Serbs and neighboring Serbia refuse to acknowledge that the massacre in Srebrenica was a genocide despite rulings by two U.N. courts. Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, along with many others, have been convicted and sentenced for genocide. Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic expressed condolences on X while calling the Srebrenica massacre a 'terrible crime.' Vucic added that 'we cannot change the past but we must change the future.'
Zawya
11-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) Participates in Global Conference on Ethical Finance and Sustainable Growth
The International University of Sarajevo (IUS), in strategic partnership with the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) ( and in collaboration with esteemed institutions including the University of Dundee (UK), Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (Türkiye), INCEIF University (Malaysia), and the Center for Advanced Studies (Bosnia and Herzegovina), successfully hosted the international conference 'Values for Impact: Ethical Finance, Innovation, and Sustainable Growth.' The event, held at the IUS Campus in Sarajevo from 18-19 June 2025, was supported by platinum sponsor Kuveyt Türk Katılım Bankası and BH Telecom, which sponsored a key panel on artificial intelligence. The conference was inaugurated by IUS Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yıldırım, who highlighted its global significance, stating, 'This conference represents a pivotal moment for global collaboration, uniting diverse perspectives to advance ethical finance and sustainable development, aligning with IUS's commitment to fostering innovation and moral responsibility in economic systems.' Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Acting Director General of IsDBI, delivered a keynote address, articulating a bold vision for Islamic finance. He stated: 'Islamic finance offers the blueprint for aligning finance with markets, technology with values, and innovation with sustainability. As the world desperately seeks a new paradigm, we must rise to the challenge and contribute to a better future that we all aspire to. The path ahead will not be easy. But the mission is worth the journey.' Dr. Ahmet Albayrak, Executive Vice President of Kuveyt Türk Katılım Bankası and Patron of the IUS Center for Islamic Finance, Innovation, and Sustainability, emphasized the importance of uniting global thought leaders to strengthen the moral and digital foundations of economic systems. One of the highlights of the conference was the participation of three distinguished recipients of the Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Economics: Dr. Mehmet Asutay, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy&Finance, Durham University Business School, UK Dr. Mohammad Kabir Hassan, Professor of Economics and Finance, University of New Orleans, USA Dr. Habib Ahmed, Sharjah Chair in Islamic Law and Finance, Durham University Business School, UK These luminaries enriched discussions with their expertise, offering profound insights into the intersection of ethics, innovation, and finance. Over 160 participants from more than 20 countries, including academics, industry leaders, policymakers, and representatives of international organizations, engaged in dynamic sessions exploring topics such as Islamic fintech, sustainable investment, and the moral foundations of economic systems. Notable sessions included 'Reviving the Moral Foundations of Economic Life,' 'Islamic FinTech for Inclusive and Ethical Futures,' and 'Green Waqf: Islamic Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change.' A special parallel session, led by Dr. Beebee Salma Sairally, Editor of the International Journal of Islamic Finance and Sustainable Development (a jointly produced journal by IsDBI and INCEIF), provided valuable guidance on publishing in peer-reviewed journals. The conference is expected to pave the way for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become an intellectual hub for the development of Islamic economics and finance in the region and to contribute to the national and regional sustainable development agenda. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI). Social media handles: X (Twitter): Facebook: LinkedIn: About the Islamic Development Bank Institute: The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Guided by the principles of Islamic economics and finance, the IsDB Institute leads the development of innovative knowledge-based solutions to support the sustainable economic advancement of IsDB Member Countries and various Muslim communities worldwide. The IsDB Institute enables economic development through pioneering research, human capital development, and knowledge creation, dissemination, and management. The Institute leads initiatives to enable Islamic finance ecosystems, ultimately helping Member Countries achieve their development objectives. More information about the IsDB Institute is available on
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Francesca Albanese, UN investigator and critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, shocked by US sanctions
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina: An independent UN investigator and outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza said Thursday that 'it was shocking' to learn that the Trump administration had imposed sanctions on her but defiantly stood by her view on the war. Francesca Albanese said in an interview with The Associated Press that the powerful were trying to silence her for defending those without any power of their own, 'other than standing and hoping not to die, not to see their children slaughtered.' 'This is not a sign of power, it's a sign of guilt,' the Italian human rights lawyer said. The State Department's decision to impose sanctions on Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, followed an unsuccessful US pressure campaign to force the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the UN's top human rights body, to remove her from her post. She is tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories and has been vocal about what she has described as the 'genocide' by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the US have strongly denied that accusation. 'Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. 'We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.' The US announced the sanctions Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and other officials about reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza. Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of crimes against humanity in his military offensive in Gaza. In the interview, Albanese accused American officials of receiving Netanyahu with honor and standing side-by-side with someone wanted by the ICC, a court that neither the US nor Israel is a member of or recognizes. Trump imposed sanctions on the court in February. 'We need to reverse the tide, and in order for it to happen – we need to stand united,' she said. 'They cannot silence us all. They cannot kill us all. They cannot fire us all.' Albanese stressed that the only way to win is to get rid of fear and to stand up for the Palestinians and their right to an independent state. The Trump administration's stand 'is not normal,' she said at the Sarajevo airport. She also defiantly repeated, 'No one is free until Palestine is free.' Albanese was en route to Friday's 30th anniversary commemoration of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in a UN-protected safe zone were killed when it was overrun by Bosnian Serbs. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Constitutional Rights opposed the US move. 'The imposition of sanctions on special rapporteurs is a dangerous precedent' and 'is unacceptable,' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. While Albanese reports to the Human Rights Council – not Secretary-General Antonio Guterres – the US and any other UN member are entitled to disagree with reports by the independent rapporteurs, 'but we encourage them to engage with the UN human rights architecture.' Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the council in February. The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, the UN says hunger is rampant after a lengthy Israeli blockade on food entering the territory and medical care is extremely limited.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN investigator and critic of Israel's actions in Gaza tells AP she was shocked by US sanctions
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — An independent U.N. investigator and outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza said Thursday that 'it was shocking' to learn that the Trump administration had imposed sanctions on her but defiantly stood by her view on the war. Francesca Albanese said in an interview with The Associated Press that the powerful were trying to silence her for defending those without any power of their own, 'other than standing and hoping not to die, not to see their children slaughtered." "This is not a sign of power, it's a sign of guilt,' the Italian human rights lawyer said. The State Department's decision to impose sanctions on Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, followed an unsuccessful U.S. pressure campaign to force the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the U.N.'s top human rights body, to remove her from her post. She is tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories and has been vocal about what she has described as the 'genocide' by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S. have strongly denied that accusation. 'Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. 'We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.' The U.S. announced the sanctions Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington to meet with President Trump and other officials about reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza. Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of crimes against humanity in his military offensive in Gaza. In the interview, Albanese accused American officials of receiving Netanyahu with honor and standing side-by-side with someone wanted by the ICC, a court that neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of or recognizes. Trump imposed sanctions on the court in February. 'We need to reverse the tide, and in order for it to happen — we need to stand united,' she said. 'They cannot silence us all. They cannot kill us all. They cannot fire us all.' Albanese stressed that the only way to win is to get rid of fear and to stand up for the Palestinians and their right to an independent state. The Trump administration's stand 'is not normal,' she said at the Sarajevo airport. She also defiantly repeated, 'No one is free until Palestine is free.' Albanese was en route to Friday's 30th anniversary commemoration of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in a U.N.-protected safe zone were killed when it was overrun by Bosnian Serbs. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Constitutional Rights opposed the U.S. move. 'The imposition of sanctions on special rapporteurs is a dangerous precedent' and 'is unacceptable,' U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. While Albanese reports to the Human Rights Council — not Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — the U.S. and any other U.N. member are entitled to disagree with reports by the independent rapporteurs, 'but we encourage them to engage with the U.N. human rights architecture.' Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from the council in February. The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, the U.N. says hunger is rampant after a lengthy Israeli blockade on food entering the territory and medical care is extremely limited. ___ AP writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.
