A marginalised Muslim Roma border community is courted by Greece and Turkey, seeking to advance their strategic interests. The rain had stopped and the sky had begun to clear. One of the women mopped the patio while the others smoked and wondered about the coronavirus, if it really was as …
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FOUR MONTHS BEFORE ELECTION, STORK’S NEST RETURNS TO HAUNT CZECH PM
The revival of the corruption case against Babis over the alleged misuse of EU funds is one of several mounting problems for the prime minister. Czech police proposed late on Monday that Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his advisor should be charged with fraudulent use of EU funds. The return …
Read More »Bosnian Far-Right Movement Weds Bosniak Nationalism, Neo-Nazism
BIRN lifts the lid on the Bosnian Movement of National Pride, a secretive organisation promoting neo-Nazi Bosniak nationalism. Emir finally felt comfortable enough to place on the table the sheets of paper he had folded and hid under his jacket. The pages contained promotional material of a far-right organisation he …
Read More »Albanian Election Commissioner Turns Blind Eye to Broadcast Bias
Data analysed by BIRN shows that most Albanian broadcasters broke rules by allocating more airtime to the ruling Socialist Party in the run-up to April’s parliamentary election, but they escaped sanction. In fining Albania’s public broadcaster, RTSH, for violating a ban on campaign coverage on the eve of the country’s …
Read More »Conflict Risks: Deteriorated Situations
Mali Amid rising social discontent, military junta staged another coup; jihadist violence persisted in north and centre. Following series of strikes paralysing country, PM Ouane 14 May offered resignation to President N’Daw, who immediately reappointed him to form more inclusive cabinet. After interim govt 24 May appointed new cabinet ministers, …
Read More »UN Security Council to discuss Yemen oil tanker impasse
The UN Security Council will meet this week to discuss a long-abandoned fuel tanker off Yemen amid growing fears of a catastrophic oil spill, diplomats said Wednesday. Thursday’s meeting, requested by Britain, comes after the Houthi militia said an agreement to allow a UN mission to inspect the tanker had …
Read More »Israel Tries Its Hand at ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran
While tensions between Israel and Iran have been omnipresent in the Middle East for decades, the prospect of open military conflict between the two countries has never seemed closer than it does now. Over the past few months, the two rivals have escalated an undeclared naval war featuring unclaimed attacks …
Read More »Iran’s ‘New’ Partnership With China Is Just Business as Usual
The recently finalized 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement between Iran and China has been referred to in the media as a “game-changer,” a “breakthrough” and a “major geopolitical shift,” but in reality, it is much ado about nothing. Signed with great fanfare on March 27, during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s …
Read More »Israeli-Palestinian Clashes Resonate Across the Middle East
Israeli forces and Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza Strip have been engaged in their heaviest exchange of fire this week since the 2014 Gaza War. A heavy barrage of Israeli airstrikes has killed at least 83 people thus far in Gaza, including 17 children, while authorities in Israel have …
Read More »Peace in Libya Will Require More Than Elections
This time last year, the Libyan capital was caught up in a year-old military campaign that had further internationalized the country’s dangerous divisions. Today, there is a new mood of cautious optimism in Tripoli. In October, negotiators from the two main warring sides—the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord and …
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