Southeast Europe

Something many other countries in the region should also do.

In addition to their political aspirations, the suspects recruited supporters through online platforms, publishing videos aimed at both national and international audiences. The group's efforts were not limited to online propaganda, as they took steps to negotiate Romania's exit from NATO and discussed their plans with foreign political and military representatives.

The authorities conducted searches at eight locations in Bucharest and several counties, seizing important evidence. Four of the accused are set to face preventive detention, while the other two will remain under house arrest. These arrests come just after Romania expelled the Russian Federation's military attaché and his deputy, accusing them of engaging in activities contrary to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It is unclear whether these expulsions are connected to the arrests.

At a moment when Hungary is isolated due to it blocking of all support for Ukraine, Macedonia sends a very clear message by seeking support from them exactly.

Police in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina have arrested more suspects in a potential child trafficking case after **31 children were found **living in a home with one caretaker on Tuesday.

[...]

The children are all members of the Roma ethnic minority and range in age from 12 years to infancy. Six of them have Croatian documents.

The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Thessaloniki, when two Turkish nationals were in a car near the city’s intercity bus terminal. Police said another vehicle blocked their path, and an assailant inside opened fire. The driver was wounded and hospitalized, while the passenger was fatally shot.

One year in prison and a six year ban from participating in politics:

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has been sentenced to one year in prison for defying the rulings of the top international official overseeing peace in the Balkan country.

The court in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, on Wednesday also banned [...] from participating in politics for six years.

Dodik and the former acting director of Republika Srpska’s Official Gazette, Miloš Lukić, face charges of defying the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt, the international envoy overseeing the peace accords that concluded Bosnia’s 1992-5 war.

Costs were steep. As the country’s debt load soared past 90% of its GDP in the wake of the pandemic, Montenegro announced in 2021 that it was unable to pay Chinese loans and was facing bankruptcy. European and American banks stepped in, bringing the country's debt ratio down to 60% of GDP.

The only candidate to lead the SDSM party in North Macedonia that party members can vote for on March 16 will be the current party leader, Venko Filipce, the SDSM reported to the internal election commission on Friday. According to media reports, no other party member will contest Filipce's leadership.

Filipce would begin a full term as chair of the party, which ended up as opposition after an electoral defeat in May 2024. The next major elections in North Macedonia will be held in the fall of 2025.

On February 20, the platform plans to organize a "Five Minutes of Warning" event in front of the Croatian National Bank (HNB) in Zagreb. The event aims to give citizens an opportunity to express their concerns about the increasing prices in various services and to protest the economic situation that has led to these changes.

I wonder what merits could Mickoski talk about. Because it seems he prefers to avoid the topic and hide ethnical discrimination under the rug.

"Is this not interference in the internal affairs (of North Macedonia)?", Mickoski continued. "How long will we suffer from double standards? We are not talking about a process based on the merit system, we are talking about bilateral disputes that should have nothing to do with European values (...) I have to stress that when Russia attacks and denies the Ukrainian identity that President Zelenskyy is talking about, we all criticize, we fight for the rights of the Ukrainian people and against this unprecedented aggression, but when the parliament of a European country attacks and denies the Macedonian identity and my Macedonian mother tongue, everyone is silent".

Bulgarians and Serbians from Tsaribrod and Pirot rallied on Saturday in support of the protesting students in Serbia. "We are on the big bridge in Pirot right now. We want the students' demands to be met, and we hope there will be a change in Serbia," protesters from the two towns told BTA.

Synolakis outlined three possible scenarios: a best-case scenario in which seismic activity gradually fades and ceases, similar to an event just over a decade ago; a major earthquake of unpredictable magnitude; or a small-scale volcanic eruption at Nea Kameni – an uninhabited island within Santorini’s caldera – or the Kolumbo submarine volcano, located about 8 km northeast of the island.

I've felt it in Šibenik which is 80 km away. It wasn't strong but it lasted fairly long.

Journey time between Ploče and Sarajevo is around four hours. Passenger services are scheduled to start up again from Monday, February 10, ten days after the successful testing of freight trains along the same route. For tickets and schedules, see Bosnian rail.

Stoyanov remarked that despite the political tension, Bulgaria and North Macedonia will continue to be neighbors. He noted that historically, even during the totalitarian years when border celebrations were enforced, Macedonians and Bulgarians came together to mark significant events. Today, however, efforts for joint celebrations are intentionally hindered, which he sees as a deliberate act of separation by Skopje's authorities.

The chairman emphasized that there is no harm in holding joint commemorations. He pointed out that such events have occurred in the past, and while each side is free to honor Gotse Delchev in their own way, it would be meaningful for both nations to commemorate him at his burial site. Stoyanov highlighted the importance of allowing Delchev’s relatives and heirs to pay tribute with a Bulgarian flag, as Delchev himself fought to defend that flag.

While hopeful for a display of “democracy and humanity” from the Macedonian authorities on the commemorative date, Stoyanov lamented the current state of relations, suggesting that Delchev would not be pleased with the ongoing division between people of shared heritage.

Support from syndicates and professional organisations indicates Vucic loosing grip.