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The new government, a coalition of three political blocs who together control 41 of parliament's 81 seats, has vowed to uphold the rule of law, get to the bottom of a string of corruption scandals and end the climate of impunity surrounding attacks on journalists.

The car of Montenegrin editor Dusko Jovanovic, who was murdered by an unidentified gunman in front of his office in Podgorica on May 27, 2004. Photo: EPA-EFE/SASA MARICIC

Women's rights organizations protested in Podgorica on Wednesday against the Western Balkans "She is Here" convention, claiming it was linked to the former Serbian politican Vladimir Beba Popovic - who they accuse of running campaigns against civil society activists in Montenegro.

Journalists in Montenegro have agreed on a revised Code of Ethics, which could help the country's media - sharply divided between anti- and pro-government outlets, raise their standards.

Independent weekly Monitor has filed a constitutional complaint after the Montenegrin court ruled that the magazine is obliged to pay 5,000 euros in damages to Djukanovic's sister, lawyer Ana Kolarevic, for articles in which she was linked to corruption during the privatisation of the state-owned Telekom company in 2005.

A court in Podgorica on Thursday jailed Damir Mandic for 19 years for his role in the murder of the prominent Montenegrin journalist Dusko Jovanovic.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has escalated over the past 24 hours, leaving six government troops dead and 12 wounded, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Tuesday.

Russia's Ambassador to Montenegro, Andrej Nesterenko, on Wednesday accused Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic of changing his mind about whether to take part in the Victory Day parade in Moscow, having first said he would go before later saying he would not.  

The third consecutive trial for the murder of the journalist Dusko Jovanovic began on Monday in the High Court in Podgorica, with the only defendant, Damir Mandic, accusing the police of "planting evidence".

The new World Press Freedom Index, surveying the state of media freedom in 2014, has ranked Macedonia at the bottom of the Balkan pile in 117th position out of 180 listed countries.

This is a slight improvement from the previous year when Macedonia was ranked in 123rd place.