Headlines
- U.S. $17.7 million allocated for the reconstruction of infrastructure in the RS
- The BiH CoM failed to adopt a report on the executive of the BiH budget
- The sixth anniversary of the death of the 12 Banja Luka babies commemorated
- Convertible mark in circulation from Monday onwards
A memorandum on the allocation of infrastructure reconstruction support worth U.S. $17.7 million, donated by US AID, was signed in Banja Luka today.
On behalf of the RS, the memorandum was signed by Vice-President Mirjanic, Prime Minister Dodik and representatives of 11 RS municipalities, and by the U.S, Ambassador in BiH, Richard Kauzlarich, and the Head of US AID, Craig Buck, on behalf of the donating party. The donated amount is part of a total infrastructure reconstruction support worth U.S. $256 that US AID is planning to invest in the area during the next four years.
2:42
Today’s session of the BiH CoM, amongst other issues, also discussed implementation of the Law on the execution of the BiH budget. The session concluded that provisions of the Law were not duly implemented, which was an impediment to the work of common institutions and the implementation of the Law on the CoM. The administrative unit of the CoM was, therefore, tasked to review minutes from all earlier sessions of this common body to identify conclusions that have still not been implemented. This should ensure that appropriate measures would be taken to correct this. According to Co-chairman Bosic, the RS had paid its obligation towards the BiH budget worth DM 1.4 million.
2:47
In a special statement given to SRT after her press conference in Athens last night, President Plavsic stressed the necessity of maintaining continuous dialogue to prevent a new escalation of conflict and ensure that all positive experiences gained in the past could be applied now to help responsible politicians to prevent new conflicts. “My meetings with high-level Greek officials, Plavsic said, now open a possibility for us to use the mediation of Greek members of the European Parliament to remind Europe that the RS is part of Europe and that its problems should be resolved within and through Europe. Deviations in the implementation of the DA can reflect in the wider area, just like the ongoing democratic processes in the RS are spreading further to cover the entire region”.
3:43
The sixth anniversary of the death of the 12 Banja Luka babies was today commemorated in this town. Namely, due to unfair sanctions imposed by the IC against our country, an aircraft carrying oxygen bottles had waited for flight clearance at Belgrade airport for several days. However, the then UN Secretary-General refused to issue permission for the aircraft to land in Banja Luka, which led to the deaths of the 12 babies and three patients with kidney problems. The last of the 12 babies died exactly six years ago. To commemorate this day, an RS delegation led by Vice-President Mirjanic today placed flowers at their joint grave at the Banja Luka graveyard.
2:14
The NATO Allied Force Commander for Europe, Wesley Clark, today visited Sarajevo where he met with the SFOR Force Commander in BH, General Shinseki, and the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp. After the meetings, Westendorp stated that implementation of the DA would not be possible without the support of SFOR. Westendorp went on to say that the support of SFOR would be of crucial importance during the forthcoming September elections and also for the return of refugees.
1:00
The Governor of the BiH Central Bank, Peter Nicholl, at a press conference today, confirmed that the convertible mark would become the BH common currency starting Monday, 22 June. Some mistakes had occurred during the banknote printing process, which, however, would not prevent the convertible mark from starting circulating next week. The first banknotes will be those of 1, 5 and 10 dinar, whereas the larger ones will start circulating in July.
2:33
Dinko Sakic, a war crime indictee who will be tried for crimes committed at the Jasenovac concentration camp during World War II, today appeared before the Zagreb Zupanija Court for the first time. The Argentinean authorities recently delivered Sakic, after he openly stated on Argentinean TV that he had been the commander of the Jasenovac concentration camp. Expectations are that the trial will finally disclose and confirm crimes committed at the concentration camp. However, some believe that the trial could possibly be misused to revise the truth about the murders committed by Ustashi forces.
2:13