Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday expressed his support for the nation’s Guardian Council decision, announced Wednesday, to disqualify a string of reformist candidates from running in the upcoming presidential elections. The move, which all but ensures victory for hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, who currently serves as Iran’s chief …

Despite grounds for suspicion, prosecutors in North Macedonia are not investigating the country’s link to an illegal marijuana operation in Serbia. In February this year, prosecutors in Serbia sent a letter to their counterparts in neighbouring North Macedonia requesting their help on an investigation into an illegal marijuana operation discovered …

Barring a major upset, activist and MP Tomislav Tomasevic is set to become mayor of the Croatian capital, marking a new chapter for the city. The day after Croatia’s May 16 municipal elections, local media and social networks were flooded with 11 year-old photos of the man who is now …

Following the shock decision to designate Albania’s former president and PM ‘corrupt’, experts are divided on whether the gesture will do Albanian democracy more harm than good. The US State Department decision to declare Albania’s former prime minister and president Sali Berisha persona non grata for corruption shocked many Albanians, …

Defying the limitations imposed by the pandemic, many youngsters in Pristina have found release for their untapped energy in a community centre where volunteers assist the poor and homeless. While many social activities resumed in Kosovo after the total lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year from March …

Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has fallen out of favour, but his political master and president may let him limp on. “Nebojsa Stefanovic will leave power when I do,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in December 2018, after Stefanovic offered his resignation as interior minister following an incident involving police and …

The Islamic State has recently stepped up its operations against the Syrian government forces and their allied militias as IS cells spread in more areas in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a recent report that a military convoy affiliated with the Syrian government and allied …

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has increasingly been seen meeting with tribal elders in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, part of efforts to polish his image and that of his group. A video circulated on social media on May 17 showing the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), …

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry laid down several conditions that would serve as a basis for normalizing ties with Turkey, in light of the recent attempts at rapprochement between the two countries. In light of the recent attempts at rapprochement between Cairo and Ankara, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry listed …

Despite being disqualified to run by the country’s Guardian Council, several major Reformist and centrist figures are still calling on citizens to go to the polls. Iranians continue to react to the decision to bar well-known Reformists and centrists from running in next month’s presidential elections. Iran’s Guardian Council, a …