The Dispatch

Bulgaria’s new anti-establishment party nearly tied with GERB in polls before Sunday vote

Bulgaria's new anti-establishment party There Is Such a People (ITN) is almost tied for support with the centre-right GERB, which has been in power for most of the past decade,…

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Slovenia pushes for Albania and N. Macedonia EU membership

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should let Albania and North Macedonia move ahead with membership talks by October before a special Balkans summit organised by Slovenia, which holds the EU presidency, its…

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Merkel sees strategic case for Balkan states joining EU

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she sees the six Western Balkan states as future members of the European Union for strategic reasons. "It is in the European Union's very own interests to drive…

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Bulgaria considers incentives to boost COVID-19 vaccinations

Bulgaria is considering offering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said. Bulgaria is one of the few countries where people can choose…

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Turkey to carry on searching for gas in Mediterranean

Turkey will carry on exploring for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan said in comments that may revive tensions with the European Union and Greece amid…

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Serbia confirms cases of COVID Delta variant

The Serbian health Ministry revealed that two people in Serbia have been diagnosed with the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant, the country's first such cases. The ministry said the "two…

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Photo Story – Women protest against Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention

Turkish police block women as they demonstrate against Turkey's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, in Istanbul, Turkey, 01 July 2021. The Turkish President pulled Turkey out of the…

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Bulgaria sticks to plans to adopt the euro from Jan 1, 2024

Bulgaria is sticking to its target to adopt the euro currency from January 1, 2024 and plans to start payments in euros without any transitional period once it joins the…

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U.S. adds Turkey to list of countries implicated in use of child soldiers

The United States added Turkey to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year, placing a NATO ally for the first…

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Supports for Turkish workers expire as COVID-19 measures lifted

Turkey's pandemic-era ban on layoffs and a government wage support system, both adopted in early 2020, expired on Thursday as most remaining coronavirus restrictions were also lifted, setting the stage…

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Serbia borrows 200 million euros from EIB to aid COVID-19 recovery

Serbia borrowed 200 million euros ($237 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Wednesday, and will use the money to help small and medium-sized enterprises recover from the COVID-19…

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UPDATED: Erdogan defends Turkey’s withdrawal from violence against women treaty

Turkey's withdrawal on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women is not a step backwards, President Tayyip Erdogan said, defending a move which has drawn condemnation from…

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Turkey to keep fixed tax on alcohol, tobacco until year-end to ease inflation

Turkey will keep a tax on alcohol and tobacco products unchanged until the end of the year, under a decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday, extending a practice…

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Bulgarian organized-crime police probing 14 illegal kidney transplants

Bulgarian organized-crime investigators are probing 14 cases of foreign nationals receiving kidney transplants in violation of law stipulating that donors must be family members, the interior minister said on Thursday.…

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Russians’ return boosts Turkish tourism prospects

Thousands of Russian tourists began arriving in Turkey on Tuesday, boosting hopes for its tourism sector after a two-month suspension in flights imposed by Moscow due to concerns about a…

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Three injured in explosion at Serbian ammunition plant

Three workers sustained light injuries in a strong explosion that rocked an ammunition plant's facilities in the Serbian town of Cacak on Saturday evening, state RTS television reported. Police blocked…

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Turkey steps up COVID-19 vaccinations

Turkey has sharply accelerated COVID-19 vaccinations this week, delivering more than 1 million a day since Monday, raising hopes of a strong economic performance in the second half of the…

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Bulgaria’s new ITN party neck-and-neck with GERB before July election

Bulgaria's new anti-establishment party There Is Such a People (ITN) stood neck-and-neck with centre-right GERB, which has been in power for most of the past decade, ahead of a snap…

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Montenegro in ‘final phase’ of talks with Europe to cut China debt

European state financial institution is ready to refinance $809 million of Montenegro’s debt to China, allowing the tiny Adriatic republic to make savings and cut interest rates, the country’s finance…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party keeps slim lead before July election

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party has a slim lead over the anti-establishment ITN before a July 11 election, an opinion poll showed this week. It maintained its lead despite a drop…

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Bulgaria to ease rules for mask wearing indoors

Bulgaria plans to lift the compulsory wearing of face masks in gyms, hairdressing salons, small shops and offices where all workers are vaccinated as coronavirus infections decrease, a deputy health…

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Turkey says differences with France eased after new Libyan government

Differences between Turkey and France over the conflict in Libya have eased since the new Libyan government was sworn in, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding that ties between…

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Albania’s parliament votes to sack president

Albania's parliament voted on Wednesday to sack President Ilir Meta over statements which the ruling party said advocated violence and violated the constitution. Some 104 of parliament's 140 deputies voted…

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Bosnia’s Mladic, commander of Europe’s worst atrocities since World War Two

Ratko Mladic was dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" for terrorising the capital Sarajevo with a 43-month siege and presiding over the 1995 massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims in a…

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UN court upholds genocide conviction against Bosnian Serb military leader Mladic

War crimes judges on Tuesday upheld a genocide conviction and life sentence against former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. In 2017, the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former…

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Sarajevo siege survivors hope for closure with Mladic verdict

Survivors of the 43-month siege of Sarajevo are hoping for closure when Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic receives a final verdict on Tuesday (June 8) in his appeal against conviction for genocide and war crimes during the 1990s. In 2017,…

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Bulgaria to set up its own ‘blacklist’ after U.S. graft sanctions

Bulgaria will set up its own "blacklist" of companies and people associated with three Bulgarians and 64 entities that the United States has imposed sanctions on over alleged corruption, preventing…

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Photo Story: Marmara Sea covered by sea snot in Istanbul

Fishing boats on the Marmara Sea covered by sea snot in Istanbul, Turkey. Because of global warming, the blanket of mucus-like substance in Marmara Sea increasing day by day threatens…

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Turkey discovers 135 bcm of additional natural gas in Black Sea

Turkey has discovered 135 billion cubic metres of additional natural gas in the southern Black Sea, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, raising the total discovery in the region to…

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Bulgaria launches $1.55 bln guarantee scheme to support small businesses

Bulgaria will launch a new 2.5 billion levs ($1.55 billion) guarantee scheme to help small and medium businesses get bank loans and speed up its economic recovery, interim Economy Minister…

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Turkey’s Erdogan expected to announce new gas find in Black Sea

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce a new gas discovery in the Black Sea on Friday, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported late on Thursday. In an interview with…

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Bulgarians welcome U.S. corruption sanctions, EU nods approval

Leading Bulgarian politicians welcomed U.S. sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them over alleged corruption on Thursday, while the European Union signalled its approval by saying it…

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Turkey’s Erdogan woos Egypt, Gulf states in push to repair ties

key hopes to maximize its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis", President Tayyip Erdogan said, as Ankara works to repair its strained ties with Cairo and…

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Croatia yacht holidays in demand once again

Sailing holidays may well be one of the best ways to avoid any crowds this summer and Croatian yacht charter companies say they have seen a strong increase in bookings…

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Anti-abortion protesters stage a ‘Walk for Life’ in Croatia

A march against abortion and euthanasia drew in thousands in Croatia's Zagreb on Saturday, with feminist groups staging smaller counterdemonstrations. Organizers of the sixth annual "March for Life" said they…

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Turkish mobster’s videos targeting top politicians draw millions of views

When Sedat Peker, a convicted Turkish mob boss, began posting videos on social media earlier this month in which he made uncorroborated claims of corruption, murder and drug running against…

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Diplomats say Turkey pushed NATO allies into softening outrage over Belarus plane

Turkey pushed NATO allies into watering down an official reaction to the forced landing by Belarus of a passenger plane and the detention of a dissident journalist on Sunday, two…

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Gas pipeline link between Bulgaria and Greece delayed until June 2022

A gas pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria aimed at helping Sofia wean off Russian gas has hit another delay and will not become operational until June 2022, the head of…

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Turkey’s tourists a quarter of pre-pandemic levels in April

Turkey welcomed 790,687 foreign visitors in April, down from a month earlier and only a quarter of the arrivals in 2019 before the pandemic hit, according to official data on…

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Turkish mafia scandal threatens Erdogan government

A gang leader's video allegations of corruption among top officials has gripped millions of Turks, threatening to tarnish the image of a government already struggling with economic woes and the…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party keeps small lead ahead of July snap poll

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party has kept a small lead over the anti-elitist ITN grouping ahead of a July 11 snap parliamentary election despite waning popularity over its failure to uproot…

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Turkey bans most plastic waste imports

Greenpeace welcomed a ban by Ankara on imports of most plastic waste after the environmental group said it uncovered exports, some possibly illegal, from Britain and Germany that created “mountains”…

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Pfizer, BioNTech to deliver 60 mln more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Turkey

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Thursday they would supply Turkey with 60 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine. The latest agreement includes…

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Photo Story – Besiktas fans celebrations

Besiktas fans clash with Turkish riot police as they try to cross the barricades before Besiktas’s Turkish Super League trophy ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, 19 May 2021. Istanbul city government…

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NATO attempts to appease Serbian concerns over Croatian troops in Kosovo

NATO sought on Monday to assuage Serbian concerns over the deployment of Croatian troops to Kosovo, stressing they were bound by exactly the same rules as all other troops of…

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Turkey to ease daytime lockdown measures from today

Turkey will start easing its strict coronavirus lockdown on Monday by allowing movement during the day while keeping overnight and weekend curfews in place, the Interior Ministry said in a…

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Turkey to ease daytime lockdown measures from Monday but curfews to stay

Turkey will start easing its strict coronavirus lockdown on Monday by allowing movement during the day while keeping overnight and weekend curfews in place, the Interior Ministry said in a…

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Full light not shed on assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II – Ali Agca

Full light has not been shed on the May 13 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, assailant Ali Agca told ANSA as the world remembers the 40th anniversary…

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Turkey calls on Muslims to take clear stance over Gaza

Muslim countries must show a united and clear stance over Israel's conflict with the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza, Turkey's vice president, Fuat Oktay, said on Thursday, criticising world powers…

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Bulgaria’s caretaker prime minister says priority is rule of law

Bulgaria's new caretaker prime minister said on Wednesday his government's priority would be upholding the rule of law in the European Union's poorest member state. President Rumen Radev appointed Stefan Yanev, a former defence…

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Bosnian Serb wartime leader Karadzic to serve jail term in UK

Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, convicted of war crimes during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, should be transferred to a British…

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President’s defence secretary to be Bulgaria caretaker PM – sources

Bulgaria's president will appoint his security and defence secretary as caretaker prime minister to lead government until a snap election is held in July, two sources familiar with the process…

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Serbia tries new tactic to boost its vaccination process

Serbians gathered at a major mall in Belgrade hoping to be among the first to get a COVID-19 vaccine and with it a shopping voucher, in the latest initiative by…

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Egypt and Turkey seek to overhaul tense ties with frank talks on Libya

Egypt and Turkey on Thursday held talks on the conflict in Libya, where they back competing factions,on Syria and the security situation in the eastern Mediterranean, in a push to…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria to hold early election on July 11

Bulgaria will hold a snap parliamentary election on July 11, after a third and final attempt to form a government following April 4 polls that led to a fragmented parliament…

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Turkey still sees 30 million tourists in 2021 if lockdown succeeds

Turkey will still expect to welcome 30 million arrivals this year, twice the number last year, if daily coronavirus cases fall below 5,000 after a lockdown ends on May 17,…

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Turkey’s COVID-19 death toll 340 as lockdown sets in

Turkey logged 340 coronavirus-related deaths and 25,980 new cases in the last 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed on Sunday, the third day of a nationwide lockdown, including curfews, closed…

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