A session of the Serbian parliament was interrupted Thursday when a member of the opposition Radical Party threw her shoes at the chairman of the parliamentary session, Belgrade media reported. The shoes missed their target but the session was interrupted for a short time.

Gordana Pop-Lazic from the ultranationalist Radical Party threw her shoes at Gordana Comic, from the ruling Democratic Party, because she was unhappy with Comic's decision not to allow another representative of the Radical Party to speak to the parliament.

Serbia blundered in the search for its most wanted fugitive war crimes suspect, Ratko Mladic, when it arrested his helpers years ago instead of trailing them, the country's prosecutor for war crimes said in an interview released Tuesday. Acting on orders of the government task force in charge of tracking down Mladic, police arrested several of his helpers in 2006, cutting the trail which may have led to him, prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic told the daily Vecernje Novosti.

Bulgaria's new conservative government may broaden its role in Afghanistan to include participation in the European Union's police training mission, Defence Minister Nikolay Mladenov said Monday. Speaking at a security conference in Sofia, Mladenov said although Bulgaria's defence budget for 2010 has been decreased to 1.44 per cent of gross domestic product, the country would continue to finance its foreign missions.

United Nations Security Council members said Monday the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina has further deteriorated because of continued divisions in the top leadership in Sarajevo. A report by High Representative Valentin Inzko, the envoy from the European Union, said a "series of obstacles, delays and failures" have prevented progress in settling disputes over political leadership, the constitution and implementing the 1995 Dayton Peace agreement.

"All of these failures - and let me say the word all - are the consequences of political differences and obstructionism," Inzko said.

The European Commission paved the way Friday for Ford Romania SA to access a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will help finance the development of a low-emissions engine at its Craiova plant. The EIB is lending a total of 600 million euros (896 million dollars) to Ford Europe for the project, of which 200 million euros will go to Ford Werke GmbH in Germany and 400 million euros to Ford Romania.

The loans, and the corresponding guarantees being provided by the Romanian government, will cover a five-year period, from 2009 to 2014, with a maturity of seven years.

A Kosovo Albanian politician campaigning for Sunday's local elections was shot at Thursday night, but escaped unhurt, a police spokesman said. Hysni Ahmeti, an opposition candidate for the post of mayor in the ethnic hotspot town of Mitrovica, was on a way to a campaign event when his car was sprayed with bullets, police spokesman Besim Hoti said.

The car sported several bullet holes after the attack, but Ahmeti, an official in former premier Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party was not hurt.

Somali pirates hijacked a Greek freighter and its crew of 21 Thursday in the Indian Ocean, reported European Union officials. The freighter, with its crew of Ukrainians and Filipinos, was on its way to Zanzibar when it was diverted to Somalia, said a spokesman from the EU's Atalanta mission. The ship was about 300 miles south- east of the Kenyan harbour city of Mombasa.

The MV Delvina is owned by a Greek firm, but sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

The former United Nations envoy for Kosovo’s final status, Martti Ahtisaari, has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced.

“Ahtisaari is an outstanding international mediator,” a committee spokesman said in announcing his win.

A Norwegian of Bosnian descent went on trial in Oslo Wednesday, accused of torture and other crimes against Serbian civilians during the Balkans war.

Mirsad Repak, 41, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which date back to 1992 before he fled to Norway and was granted Norwegian nationality.

Romania is progressing slowly, with small steps, but is on the right track. However, further results are needed. This is the conclusion that stands out in the draft of the European Commission for Romania, which is still under discussion in Brussels.

It seems that the report will be favorable, although Romania will receive a low rating for its fight against corruption.