Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE party has declared victory in Sunday’s general elections, claiming they have won almost half of the seats in the parliament. “The VMRO DPMNE-led coalition has won these elections,” Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE party leader Nikola Gruevski told supporters late on Sunday.

Political deadlock and economic hardship appear to have steered Moldovans towards the opposition Communists in local elections on Sunday. Communist Igor Dodon is leading the mayoral race in the Moldovan capital Chisinau with around 52 percent of the vote, while incumbent mayor Dorin Chirtoaca holds 43 percent, according to

Albania’s Minister of Education announced in a meeting with his Kosovo counterpart on Friday that both countries would work on producing joint textbooks for first-graders. “We will soon have textbooks on the market for children abroad [outside Albania], based on a common programme,” the Albanian Education Minister, Myqerem Tafaj, said. …