Serbs vote to weaken Bosnia, step up their secession drive

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The Bosnian Serb parliament has vote to launch a series of steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country’s central institutions as the Bosnian Serb leader stepped up his secession campaign despite a threat of new U.S. sanctions. The lawmakers voted Friday in favor of starting a procedure for Bosnian Serbs to withdraw from the Bosnian army, security services, tax system and judiciary. That is another  follow up to repeated threats by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik to secede about a half of Bosnia and join neighboring Serbia.