Like all nations, the people of the Balkans also have their culinary obsessions: the Turks put aubergines over everything, the Greeks – oregano, and the Bulgarians – a herb known as tshubritsa (a kind of savory), thus making the meaning of the saying "Every meal – with savory" literal (the proverb is normally used in reference to people who stick their nose in everything).

The international community “cannot afford to fail the people of the Balkans yet again” as Kosovo heads for independence, according to an expert at The University of Nottingham.

Addressing a Balkan energy summit in Zagreb, Croatia on June 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin was as poker-faced as ever as he trumpeted a landmark deal that could secure Moscow's continued dominance of Europe's energy market.

Balkan heads of state gather at a Macedonian resort town Friday to push collective energy security against a backdrop of growing power shortages. The leaders were set to declare political solidarity in the event of a local or global energy crisis.

A special UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari has recommended independence for Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo, supervised by the international community.

Legendary rock group the Rolling Stones will help Montenegro celebrate its independence by performing a concert in the country as part of their newly announced European tour.