Eurasia Press & News

A massive fire that broke out at an oil refinery near Iran’s capital and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the sky over Tehran was extinguished on Thursday, after more than 20 hours, a news agency reported. The semi-official ISNA agency quoted the country’s deputy oil minister, Alireza …

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 …

Many people in the Balkans see cryptocurrency trading as a means to make money fast. Others are hooked on the philosophy. Stefan Angelovski starts his day with a cup of coffee and a browse online at which cryptocurrencies to buy and which to sell. The 33-year-old former fitness trainer in …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …