BOSNIAN BANKING SECTOR REMAINS RESILIENT TO GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - At yesterday's session of Bosnian State Presidency, the Bosnian Minister of Finance and Treasury Dragan Vrankić has informed the Bosnian Presidency about the possible consequences of the world financial crisis for Bosnia.

The report was given at the request of the Bosnian State Presidency members.

Minister Vrankić said that the Bosnian banking sector is sound and stable, that the banks were liquid and the consequences of financial crisis that affected the world would not directly reflect on Bosnia.

He informed the Bosnian Presidency members that resistance of banking system was ensured by strict legal measures of agencies for bank security and deposit insurance as well as high rate of obligatory reserve which business banks must keep in Bosnian Central Bank.

The Bosnian State Presidency is convinced that discernible mistrust of the Bosnian citizens, who have money deposed in banks and have been raising it lately, is ungrounded.

The Bosnian Presidency assumes that mistrust towards banks could reflect on the capacity of banks to invest in the Bosnian economy, which still has negative consequences for economic growth and also the standard of all Bosnian citizens.

According to the Bosnian State Presidency, Bosnia will not have the crisis of banking sector which occurred at the world banking scene.
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NEW MASS GRAVE FOUND IN EASTERN BOSNIA

KAMENICA, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - A new mass grave believed to contain dozens of genocide victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has been found in eastern Bosnia, an official said today.

The new grave is the 11th to be discovered in the eastern Bosnian village of Kamenica, near the town of Zvornik, said Murat Hurtic of the Bosnian Missing Persons Commission.

"We have exhumed remains of one person and 38 detached skeleton parts," he said adding that bullets were also found in the grave.

Hurtic said the exact number of bodies could be established only after DNA analyses.

"We are absolutely sure that these remains belong to Srebrenica victims," he said.

The exhumation work was expected to continue till the end of next week.Soil probes showed there were at least two more massgraves in the village.

The genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor overran the then U.N.-protected eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia, mass murdering some 10,000 Bosnian civilians in Europe’s single worst atrocity since World War II.

The genocide victims were initially buried in a dozen mass graves. But after the release of satellite pictures showing large portions of freshly disturbed ground, the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor moved them to other locations in order to cover up the crimes.

The body parts of the genocide victims were separated during reburial using bulldozers, and forensic experts have sometimes found parts of a single person buried in three different so-called secondary graves.

The remains of thousands of the genocide victims have been exhumed from about 70 mass graves around Srebrenica, with more than 5,600 Bosnian xivilians identified by DNA analysis.

The Srebrenica massacre has been ruled genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), both based in The Hague,The Netherlands.
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BOSNIAN ARMY TO END ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN AGGRESSION AGAINST IRAQ

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - The Bosnian Armed Forces will terminate their deployment in Iraq this year.According to the Bosnian Defence Ministry,Bosnia's participation in the western aggression against Iraq "is no longer necessary".

The US and United Kingdom troops, with four other major allies' forces, will stay in Iraq after December 1st.

The Bosnian military contingent in Iraq currently consists of two platoons - the eighth rotation of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Platoon at Echo Base near Al-Diwaniyah and the first rotation of the Infantry Platoon at Camp Victory near Baghdad. Each of the units has approximately 35 professional soldiers who volunteered for the six-month shift in Iraq.

Since mid-2005, the Bosnian EOD technicians have served in Camp Taqaddum at Fallujah, Tallil Base near Nasiriyah and Echo Base at Al-Diwaniyah. Their mission has been to identify, dispose of and destroy conventional unexploded ordnance (UXO), thus reducing the insurgents' ability to make improvised explosive devices. The Infantry Platoon arrived in August this year at Camp Victory, which it guards. Its mission is the first combat infantry deployment for the Bosnian Army in an international military operation.

Both platoons will finish their shift no later than December 15th. This will end the Bosnia's participation in the western aggression against Iraq in Iraq, leaving the observer mission in Congo as the only international military operation in which the BiH Armed Forces currently participate.

However, up to ten Bosnian staff officers,pending parliamentary approval, will soon begin specialised training for participation in the western aggression against Afghanistan.
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BOSNIA BEATS ARMENIA 4:1 IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

ZENICA, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - Zlatan Muslimovic scored twice in the second half yesterday to help Bosnia beat Armenia 4-1 in a World Cup qualifier.

Bosnia took the lead in the 31st minute after Armenia goalkeeper Roman Berezovski only managed to punch away a corner straight at striker Elvir Spahic, who fired in a volley.

Bosnia controlled play throughout the first half and made it 2-0 in the 38th when Samir Muratovic's pass from the right side reached Edin Dzeko, who headed into the net from close range.

The Bosnians kept attacking after the break, and Muslimovic put the game away in the 56th, taking a pass from Zvjezdan Misimovic and dribbling through the Armenian defense before sending a powerful shot past Berezovski.

Armenia pulled one back in the 85th when Vahagn Minasyan volleyed a shot past Bosnia goalkeeper Goran Brasnic.

But Muslimovic made sure the visitors couldn't rally, heading in his second goal in the 89th after taking a pass from Admir Vladavic.

The Bosnian national football team coach Miroslav Blazevic praised his players for a committed performance.

"All credit to the players who never took their foot of the gas pedal. I am especially pleased we got the fourth goal after Armenia scored a consolation," Blazevic said.
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NEW SHOPPING CENTRE TO OPEN IN SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - A new international-style shopping centre will open in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo next September.Alta Shopping Centre will be a modern retail complex in the capital and will be located in the heart of the city's Central Business District.

Alta Shopping Centre will have a total built-up area of 23,000 square metres and a gross leaseable area of 11,900 square metres.

It will also enjoy high visibility and excellent access from all parts of the city. It will present the people of Sarajevo with a whole new shopping experience with its major international brands, its luxurious interior design, its exclusive boutiques and its exceptional restaurants and cafes.

The developer is Triland Development, a renowned group of companies which owns, develops, and manages real estate assets including office, residential and retail properties in Bosnia.

Triland is affiliated with Crow Holdings, an active investor in industrial, office, retail, mart, land, hotel and residential real estate businesses in the United States, Europe and South America.

Tie Sosnowski, Director of Triland Development, said, "Triland's goal is to provide a new shopping experience for the citizens of Sarajevo which will have a positive impact on the exciting growth of the city centre.

"Alta Shopping Centre represents a significant milestone in the development of Sarajevo and will provide attractive new venues for all the community to enjoy," he added.

Colliers International, the global property consultant, is the exclusive agent for the project. Colliers has handled some of the biggest retail projects in the region, including the first international shopping malls in Croatia (GTC's Avenue Mall in the Croatian capital Zagreb).

"I am delighted that we will have the opportunity to bring to Sarajevo the same superb international brands that we have brought to other capitals in the region. This is a landmark project which will make a long-lasting contribution to the life of the city," Philip Bay, Regional Director of Colliers International Southeast Europe, said.
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DRUNKEN SLOVENIAN AMBASSADOR CAUSES CAR CRASH IN SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 16,2008) - Slovenia'a Ambassador to Bosnia Natasa Vodusek took part in a severe car accident in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Ambassador Vodusek crashed her official Mercedes into the car of a 45-year-old Bosnian citizen Nihad Zorlak.

Due to the impact, the man nearly broke through the windshield. He suffered severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors are still fighting for his life. The Ambassador`s life was saved by airbags, therefore she suffered minor injuries.

Interestingly enough, official license plates were taken off the Ambassador`s Mercedes.

Ambassador Vodusek had a 1.45 alcohol blood level during the accident. An investigation will determine if the Ambassador went through a red or green light before crashing into Zorlak.
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