Balkans

Share This Now! How Conspiracy Theories Swamped North Macedonia

The fight against the spread of fake news is becoming more sophisticated in North Macedonia – but those involved in disseminating misinformation are upping their game as well. The day starts with coffee and unread messages: a few from friends, a few work related, a paid furniture ad, and one …

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Albanians Search Anxiously for Youngsters Arrested in Street Protests

Parents of the youthful protesters arrested during the latest anti-government rallies are hunting in police stations across Tirana for their children – some accusing the police of making arbitrary arrests. Emin Basha, uncle of Ibrahim Basha, a police officer killed on duty while fighting drug lords in southern Albania four …

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With Arms Deals and Donations, Turkey Steps up Balkan Influence

Turkey has long pursued a policy of soft-power diplomacy in the Balkans. More recently, the defence sector has come to the fore. When, in the midst of a reignited war over the Caucasus mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh, President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia was considering buying Turkish armed drones, it was …

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Balkan States Race to Secure COVID-19 Vaccine Supplies

As the countries of the Balkans strive to secure sufficient supplies of COVID-19 vaccine, many questions remain unanswered – how much will there be, when will it start and what will it all cost? With UK grandmother Margaret Keenan becoming the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech …

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Vlado Buckovski, North Macedonia’s Ice-Breaker With Sofia

North Macedonia’s former PM is entering into the crossfire of the bilateral historical dispute with neighbouring Bulgaria with dangerously high expectations on all sides. t is his fate in life to enter wars after important battles have already been lost.” This was how one colleague journalist portrayed North Macedonia’s former …

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Sofia to Moscow: ‘We’re not going to fight Russia, there are no nuclear weapons here’

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on Saturday denied statements by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, that his country and Romania are stocking offensive weapons, including nuclear weapons, that could be used against Russia. There has never been a nuclear weapon in Bulgaria, he stressed.

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