Europe

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent with BosNewsLife News Center BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (BosNewsLife)-- Belgium's King Albert II said Wednesday, July 03, that he will abdicate in favor of his son due to "health reasons", just months after Queen Beatrix in neighboring Netherlands stepped down.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife SKOPJE/BELGRADE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A Macedonian court sentenced the archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Macedonia to three years in prison on what his denomination and activists called Wednesday, July 3, "false charges" of money laundering, while fourteen co-defendants received suspended jail terms.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio click: EXTRACROATIA By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent ZAGREB, CROATIA (BosNewsLife)-- Croatia has joined the European Union as the 28th member state after celebrations that were overshadowed by concerns about its future.Yet, while the heads of state from all six ex-Yugoslav republics were among the guests, leaders of several EU nations such as Britain, France and notably Germany -- the first to recognize Croatia's independence -- did not attend.

By BosNewsLife News Center with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Smaller evangelical congregations and other groups were weighing their options Thursday, June 27, after Hungary's parliament introduced new rules on recognizing churches, despite the Constitutional Court’s annulment of several passages in a controversial church law.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved as many as 100,000 Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps, supported the non-Communist armed resistance movement during World War Two, according to new research viewed by BosNewsLife Wednesday June 26.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TIRANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Socialist rival Edi Rama both claimed victory in parliamentary elections that were overshadowed by violence in which at least one person died.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungarians on Friday, June 21, were mourning former Hungarian Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn, known for his role in the collapse of Communism in Europe and the reunification of Germany, who died in hospital at age 80 following a long illness. 

Listen to the shorter BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: BNLRadio By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspodent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewslife)-- The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center has welcomed a decision by Hungarian authorities to charge one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects with involvement in abusing Jews and assisting in their murder during World War Two.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correrspondent BosNewsLife PRAGUE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The European Union has urged the Czech Republic to properly investigate a massive spying and corruption case in the Czech Republic amid concerns about possible fraud with EU subsidies.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife PRAGUE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)--Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas resigned on Monday following a massive espionage and bribery scandal involving his government.