“Akin to buying bread”: Mass shootings horrify the Balkans. But illegal guns still thrive
ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC and EDWARD MCALLISTER, of Reuters, report on efforts to reduce gun violence in the small Balkan country of Montenegro…
Cities worldwide hold subdued Christmas Eve celebrations amid conflicts
Bethlehem, West Bank AP Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were […]
Heatwave dries up lake in Serbia, triggers fires in Balkan “extreme weather event”
Belgrade, Serbia Reuters The Balkans, along with much of Europe, continued to swelter in a prolonged heatwave on Wednesday, triggering forest fires and drying up a Serbian lake for the first time, as a meteorologist warned such heatwaves could become more regular. “At the moment, we are amid an extreme weather event, a heatwave characterized […]
‘Liberland’: Breakaway Balkans micronation dreams of crypto future
Libertarian supporters of self-declared independent island in the heart of Europe pin their hopes on a crypto-based future, but unstable technology paints an uneasy future for the micronation. ADAM SMITH, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Montenegro’s ex-economy minister Milatovic declares victory in presidential run-off
Podgorica, Montenegro Reuters Montenegro’s former economy minister Jakov Milatovic declared victory in a presidential election run-off on Sunday, over long-standing incumbent Milo Djukanovic, ending more than three decades of his rule in the small Balkan republic. Western-educated Milatovic, 37, the deputy head of the Europe Now movement, campaigned on pledges to curb graft, improve living […]
Montenegrin government falls over ties with Serbian Church
Podgorica, MontenegroAP The Montenegrin Government fell in a no-confidence vote early Saturday that followed a rift over relations with the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church. Lawmakers voted 50 to one to oust the government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic just weeks after he signed an agreement regulating the position of the Serbian church in Montenegro. The […]
Balkans losing hope of progress on EU membership
Belgrade, Serbia/Brussels, Belgium Reuters In Kosovo, which has been waiting for visa-free travel to the European Union since 2010, a restaurant owner has erected a large replica of France’s famed Eiffel Tower for its diners. “We have built it as a form of consolation for the people who cannot go to Paris,” said Blerim Bislimi, […]
EU to funnel COVID vaccines to Balkans after China, Russia shipments
Vienna, Austria/Brussels. Belgium Reuters The European Union will ship over half a million COVID-19 shots to the Western Balkans by August using for the first time in the region a vaccine-sharing mechanism meant to help its poorer neighbours and to challenge Chinese and Russian influence. The EU move comes after China and Russia distributed millions […]
Dozens of trafficking victims rescued in Interpol crackdown in the Balkans
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation At least 89 victims of human trafficking were rescued and dozens of suspected traffickers arrested in a crackdown on organised crime groups in the Balkans, Interpol said this week. Operation Theseus saw 3,000 officers from eight nations including Albania, Moldova and Turkey dispatched to crime hotspots including border checkpoints, train and […]
StrangeSights: New “nations” declared in the Balkans; “slow TV”; and, write an essay to snag a home…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…