Balkans

In an interview with BIRN, Tomas Szunyog, said EU members are still divided over visa liberalization – and Kosovo must meantime push on with reforms tackling corruption, pollution and minority rights.The EU’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, told BIRN in an interview that he understands the frustration of the …

North Macedonia has spent two years resisting Turkey’s demands for the handover of Turkish nationals it accuses of ties to ‘terrorism’. But Ankara is not giving up. Turkey’s demand for the handover of 86 alleged followers of the man its accuses of masterminding a failed 2016 coup has intensified a …

As conspiracy websites mushroom, Slovak fact-checkers hit back at the peddlers of false truths where it hurts them most – in their wallets. In the midst of Slovakia’s preparations for the impending third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public is still preoccupied with doubts about vaccines and distrust in …

Ivan Korčok külügyminiszter rendkívül tapasztalt diplomata hírében áll, mégis, ha a magyarokról van szó, porcelánboltban randalírozó elefántként kezd viselkedni. Korčok szerdán egy Facebook-bejegyzésben élesen bírálta Kövér Lászlót, a Magyar Országgyűlés fideszes elnökét, aki beszédet mondott a Somorjáról Kitelepített Magyarok Emlékművénél. Hogy egészen konkrétan melyik szövegrésszel volt problémája a külügyminiszternek, az …

It’s perhaps a sign of the times that a visit to Hungary by an American television personality known for his provocations on race and immigration has generated international news coverage. But the visit by Tucker Carlson—whose Fox News program has become a clearinghouse of far-right talking points, and misinformation, in …

Την ώρα που γράφονται αυτές οι γραμμές (απόγευμα Τρίτης, 3 Αυγούστου) ολόκληρη η Αττική έχει σκεπαστεί από ένα μαύρο σύννεφο καπνού από την μεγάλη φωτιά της Βαρυμπόμπης. Μέχρι στιγμής, η πυρκαγιά μαίνεται ανεξέλεγκτη καταστρέφοντας δασικές εκτάσεις και κατοικίες, οδηγώντας σε εκτεταμένες εκκενώσεις οικισμών. Την ίδια στιγμή, βρίσκονται σε εξέλιξη πυρκαγιές …

The Albanian Ambassador to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan Mark Gharib expressed appreciation for the efforts conducted by Syria to help in the repatriation of Albanian nationals, including 5 women and 14 children, from the al-Hol Camp in the province of al-Hassakeh. Gharib, in a statement to journalists at the Damascus …

After a brief, inauspicious career ferrying drugs across the Adriatic, two hapless Albanian speedboat drivers decided to come clean, exposing the powerful connections and police support that traffickers enjoy. Early on the morning of August 4, 2016, two Albanians disembarked from a speedboat and ordered coffee at a bar near …

The surveillance scandal and subsequent lack of government action is a national scandal that threatens Hungarian democracy. he spyware and the covert surveillance used against journalists, civilians and an opposition mayor could be the most severe abuse of power in Hungary since the democratic transition three decades ago. “Shocking”, “unbelievable”, …

A report by a Bosnian Serb-funded commission has claimed the Srebrenica massacres were not genocide and most victims were not civilians – but some of its controversial assertions are contradicted by evidence heard at trials at international courts. A report published last week by a commission to scrutinise events in …