Headlines
- First Summit of the Pact of Stability will be held in July in Sarajevo
- Sarajevo – EC delegation met with members of the BiH Presidency and Council of Ministers
- US President, Bill Clinton, visits Slovenia
- KLA no longer a military force – they have to hand over their heavy weapons in 30 days and light weapons in 90 days
- First year anniversary of the distribution of the Convertible Mark
Sarajevo
Heads of the G8 countries made a decision to hold the first Summit of the Pact of Stability in Sarajevo. The German Chancellor said that this was an good sign for the region and that the European Union and the World Bank were willing to provide adequate help.
EC delegation, which came to BiH a few days ago, met with members of the BiH Presidency and Council of Ministers today in Sarajevo. Again, EC representatives reiterated that BiH has to fulfill some preconditions in order to become a full member of the European Council reported OBN journalist, Sefko Bajic.
World
In Bonn, the summit of the European Union and USA finished today while the NATO seminar began in Budapest. The main event of the day is the European tour of the US President. The President is in Slovenia today and for tomorrow he is scheduled to visit Macedonia. OBN journalist and presenter, Aleksandar Mlac, reported on the visit of the US President from Ljubljana.
Kosovo
Agreement on demilitarisation of Kosovo clearly states that the Kosovo Liberation Army must stop to exist as a military force. All weapons will be stored according to agreed deadlines. Since the NATO air strikes have stopped, 135,000 Kosovo Albanians have returned to their homes. The organized return of a large number of Serbs and Montenegrins, who fled Kosovo during the last couple of days, still depends upon providing guarantees for their safe return.
Sarajevo
Regular session of the BiH Council of Ministers was held today in Sarajevo. The ministers have difficulties in making decisions regarding the process of return, which is one of the main preconditions for the BiH membership in the EU.
New York
A report on solving the Millennium Bug problem that will occur when the year 2000 arrives. Approximately, $ 600 billion will have to be invested in order to solve this problem that will be caused by the change of date. In New York, 140 representatives from countries all over the world have gathered to discuss steps which have been done to date in order to be ready for the January 1st 2000. From New York, Damir Kaletovic, produced a report for OBN.
Sarajevo / Banja Luka
The first year of the distribution of the Convertible Mark (KM) was celebrated in the BiH Central Bank today. The Governor of the Central Bank emphasized that the KM has a stable exchange rate in the European Zone which consists of 11 countries. A report on the monetary situation in the country from the RS was covered by Jovanka Stevanovic, OBN reporter from Banja Luka.
Banja Luka
A report on cancelling entry exams at the Banja Luka Grammar School due to unpaid salaries to teachers. Other schools have continued with their exams although they do support the Grammar School.
Visoko
The Government of the Netherlands donated equipment worth DEM 1,2 million to the BiH milk farms. The equipment was handed over at the “Dobrinje” milk farm near Visoko.
Banja Luka
A report on Court for Economic Issues in Banja Luka. Some 1,000 requests for bankruptcy procedure have been submitted to the Court. However, the Court is not dealing with that and OBN crew researches whether this has been done intentionally just before the beginning of the privatization process.
Sarajevo
A piece on illegal construction of houses and buildings in the Sarajevo Canton area. This is one of the mayor problems obstructing the process of return in the Canton. The Canton Ministry presented a plan for solving the problem.
This was followed by a short piece on OHR moving to new premises in Sarajevo.
Banja Luka
A report on the RS Minister of Information, Rajko Vasic, who is against the establishment of a public TV corporation in BiH. He said that this was against the interest of the RS. However, plans to establish a public corporation have been outlined by the Madrid Conference.
Sport
Results from the Basketball European Championship in France were presented and the BiH team won its first match. This was followed by a report from Wimbledon Tennis Competition in England.