Balkans

Despite losing its parliamentary majority, Poland’s ruling party managed to force through a media law that could spell the end of the largest private television station in the country. After a stormy day in the Polish parliament, Law and Justice (PiS) finally managed to scrape enough support late on Wednesday …

This week, while Croatia celebrates its victory in 1995’s Operation Storm and Serbia mourns the victims, nationalists on both sides will be seeking to profit politically from one of the war’s most traumatic events, says sociologist Marijana Stojcic. Every August, relations cool between Croatia and Serbia and officials exchange harsh …

Two young anthropologists have delved into the ways Albanians have traditionally interpreted dreams – and what this says about their culture and society. Eating honey signals sorrow and bitterness, fire signals joy, smoke signals distress while a snake means you will have an enemy the next day. Long hair signal …

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 …