BALKANS: Religious Differences Go To School

When parents of today's school children went to school, religion was a private matter, something talked about at home or among friends and relatives in communist former Yugoslavia.

RIGHTS-BOSNIA: Lost Between Dead and Alive

"I'm still searching for my son, I don't know where he is, or how he was killed," says Kada Hotic. She does not believe he is still alive. "It is important for me to find his remains, and that he is buried with the dignity of a human being.

RIGHTS: EU Urged to Step Up Pressure on Chechnya

The European Union has been urged to use its influence with Russia's new president to insist that human rights abuses in Chechnya are thoroughly investigated.

BALKANS: Now Divided by NATO Membership

Security issues in the Balkans came under the spotlight once again at the NATO summit in Bucharest, where some nations from the region were invited to join the alliance, some remained in the waiting room, and some like Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, outside.

BOSNIA: Kosovo Pushes Up New Ethnic Issues

Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence has provoked new divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past few weeks.

BALKANS: Serbia Outraged over Kosovan Acquittal

Serbians feel outraged after the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) acquitted former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj of atrocities against non-Albanians in 1998. Haradinaj's guerrilla group fought central rule from Belgrade at the time.

POLITICS: Not Easy to Come in From the Cold War

NATO and Russia made little progress in settling their disputes during the alliance's summit in Bucharest this week. But the two sides insisted the Cold War is over and that they are open to compromise.

EUROPE: New Push for Pro-EU Reform

The EU wants to use civil society to promote pro-EU reforms in the governments of its southern and eastern European neighbours - and civic actors seem to be willing to play along in what looks like a win-win situation.

POLITICS: Shaky NATO Announces Minimal Enlargement

Europe appears to have had its way over the U.S. at the opening of the NATO summit in Romanian capital Bucharest.

RIGHTS: A Fifth of EU Children in Poverty

Minimum levels of expenditure on addressing the causes of child poverty should be introduced across the European Union, according to a parliamentarian tasked with analysing the problem.

BOSNIA: To the Future, With the Past Following

Close to 15 years after the siege of Sarajevo began, the city has recovered much of its past prosperity. But the wounds and memories of war are still around.

BALKANS: "Serbs&#39 Organs Sold From Albania"

Serbia's War Crimes Prosecution Office has formally opened an investigation into the case of hundreds of Serbs who disappeared in Kosovo in 1998-99. The investigations were ordered after excerpts from a book by former chief international war crimes tribunal prosecutor Carla Del Ponte were published in local media.

SLOVAKIA: Corruption Haunts Governing Coalition

Slovakia's left-wing government continues to survive media and opposition attacks over a series of corruption scandals. The scandals have not, however, diminished the government's popularity.

EUROPE: Kosovo Shadow Falls on Moldova

Moldova and its separatist region Transdniester, engaged for 16 years in a conflict over the latter's independence, each had reasons to believe the spring of 2008 would bring a settlement favourable to their side. But Moscow, crucial to any resolution, has already signalled it is not in a hurry to reach a resolution.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: China Asked to Stop 'Demonising' Dalai Lama

The head of the European Union's only directly elected institution has urged China to stop "demonising" the Dalai Lama.

EUROPE: Poland Shows its Tusk

What looked like a foregone conclusion - Warsaw nodding to Washington's request to build a U.S. missile base in Poland - is on thin ice after Poland's new government decided to switch to what it calls a realistic approach to negotiations.

BALKANS: Serbia Awaits ‘Functional Separation’

Serbia is looking for United Nations approval of its plan for "functional separation" between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, after the breakaway province declared unilateral independence last month.

RUSSIA: Price Fuels Gas War

A renewed Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict has been provisionally averted, but as Ukrainian politicians struggle for control of the gas sector, the next months are likely to bring more price wars.

KOSOVO: Irredentist Ripples Spread Out

While the world wonders whether Kosovo's proclaimed independence will indeed constitute a precedent, its initial effects on other frozen conflicts in Europe are beginning to be felt.

TURKEY: Ruling Party Risks &#39Closure&#39

After four military interventions since 1960, another elected Turkish government risks being overthrown - this time by the judiciary.

RUSSIA: Black Sea Fleet Sailing Into Uncertain Waters

The long-term presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukrainian territory touches a sensitive nerve in a country that is asserting its independence from Russia by seeking NATO membership.