The Dispatch

Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigns after months of protests

Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned on Tuesday following months of protests over a deadly awning collapse in November that killed 15 people. Vučević's resignation came just a day after…

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Albania to create a Vatican-style, Bektashi state in Tirana

Albania will create a sovereign Muslim state in Tirana for the Bektashi religious order, along the lines of the Vatican in Rome, to preserve and promote religious tolerance, Prime Minister…

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Croatians Stage Nationwide Boycott to Protest Rising Prices

A nationwide boycott of shops, retail chains, and gas stations is taking place across Croatia today in response to the continuous rise in prices. The initiative, launched by the Facebook…

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Bulgaria’s parliament approves new government to end months of coalition talks

Bulgaria's parliament approved on Thursday a cabinet led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker, ending months of negotiations on the formation of a coalition government. The centre-right GERB party…

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Croatia’s Milanovic wins presidential vote

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic won a second term in the largely ceremonial post, a preliminary result based on vote count in 98.65% of the polling stations showed. Milanovic of the…

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UPDATED: Suspect in Montenegro shooting dies after attempting suicide

A man shot dead 12 people in a rampage in a small town in Montenegro before dying from self-inflicted wounds early on Thursday, authorities said, in one of the Balkan…

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‘Croatia’s Trump’ wins first round of presidential election

Croatia’s incumbent President Zoran Milanović, a critic of NATO and the EU whose populism has earned comparisons to Donald Trump, won the first round of the country’s presidential ballot on…

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Belgrade rocked once more by anti-government protests

Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Belgrade on Sunday to protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whom they blame for a railway…

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Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager

Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social…

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Heroin kingpin arrested after 703 kilos of heroin found in soap shipment

An international law enforcement operation supported by Europol has led to the arrest of a suspected heroin trafficker running a criminal network stretching from Iran to Western Europe. The investigation…

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Violent Albanian criminal group linked to corruption disrupted with the support of Europol

On 25 November, Albanian authorities, with the support of Europol, took enforcement actions against 21 individuals, including a former judge, a lawyer a police officer, and two investigative journalists as…

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Croatia to hold presidential election on Dec. 29

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that a presidential election would be held on Dec. 29 and that the government would call the vote officially on Thursday. Incumbent President Zoran…

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Erdogan ally floats Turkey constitutional amendment to let him extend his tenure

The main political ally of longstanding Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that a constitutional amendment should be considered to allow the president to run again in elections set…

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Abdullah Ocalan: Who is jailed militant who shaped PKK insurgency against Turkey?

Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, jailed 25 years ago, is again a focus of attention in Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist ally raised the possibility of his release in…

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Turkey looks to end Kurdish PKK conflict as regional instability grows

Growing regional instability and changing political dynamics have prompted the first bid in a decade to end Turkey's 40-year conflict with Kurdish militants, but its chances of success are unclear…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria’s GERB party wins parliamentary vote, preliminary results show

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party won a parliamentary election on Sunday with 26.08% of the votes, according to preliminary results from the state election commission based on a partial vote count.…

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UPDATED: Turkey strikes Kurdish militants after deadly attack on defence firm

Turkey launched airstrikes on Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, hours after a deadly attack on a defence firm near Ankara killed five people, an assault the…

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Erdogan ally makes offer to jailed PKK leader Ocalan to end conflict

President Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist ally said on Tuesday the Kurdish militant PKK's jailed leader could be allowed to speak in Turkey's parliament, if he announces an end to the group's…

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Albanian ex-president Meta held on corruption charges

Former Albanian President Ilir Meta has been detained by police over corruption allegations, his lawyer said, calling the arrest politically motivated. Meta, 55, who was president from 2017-2022 and now…

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Gulen, the powerful cleric accused of orchestrating a Turkish coup, dies

The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkey and beyond but spent his later years mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish…

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Eastern Turkey rattled by magnitude 5.9 earthquake, felt also in Syria

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck eastern Turkey's Malatya province on Wednesday, the country's disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD) said, adding that there were no immediate reports…

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MEPs express concern on deteroriation of Turkish democractic credentials

MEPs have expressed their deep concern about the ongoing deterioration of democratic standards in Türkiye, and the targeting of independent journalists, activists and opposition members. MEPs deplored a complex web…

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09

Oct

Turkey blocks instant messaging platform Discord

Turkey has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord following a court decision, the country's infotech regulator said on Wednesday. Turkey's Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the access…

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Violent Protests in Tirana as Police Clash with Protesters Over Corruption

Albanian police fired tear gas to disperse opposition protesters who hurled petrol bombs at government buildings and smashed city property in what they said was part of a civil disobedience…

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Turkey says Israel expanding Gaza war to Lebanon

Turkey said Israel is seeking to expand its war on Gaza to Lebanon with the “alarming” wave of deadly explosions that swept through Hezbollah strongholds. “The escalation in the region…

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Prosecutors indict Albania’s ex PM on corruption charges

Albania's main opposition leader Sali Berisha said he had been officially indicted on Wednesday on corruption charges for actions he took when he was prime minister, describing the indictment as…

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Turkey arrests alleged Mossad financial operative

Turkey arrested a Kosovan national accused of managing the financial network of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency in the country, the Turkish intelligence organisation said on Tuesday. Liridon Rexhepi was detained…

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Bulgaria elections postponed

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev refused to appoint a caretaker government on Monday, prolonging the country’s political stalemate amid a rift over the nomination of Kalin Stoyanov to continue serving as…

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Turkey fully committed to NATO – Defence Minister

Turkey remains fully committed to its NATO responsibilities, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters, addressing concerns that Ankara might be shifting away from the West. Last month, President Tayyip Erdogan…

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Montenegro’s Adriatic gem of Kotor struggles with tourist influx

A UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled on the edge of a picturesque Adriatic bay, the town of Kotor in Montenegro is struggling to cope with a surge in tourism that…

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Bulgaria heads to seventh parliamentary election in just three years

Bulgaria faces its seventh parliamentary election in just three years after the last of three political parties tapped by President Rumen Radev to form a coalition government returned the mandate…

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02

Aug

Coordinated crackdown on high-profile Albanian criminal network

The Albanian authorities, in cooperation with Europol and Belgian, Dutch and French law enforcement, have successfully concluded a major operation, arresting 15 suspected members of a notorious Albanian organised crime…

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Turkey’s Erdogan tells Pope ‘immoral’ Olympics ceremony mocks sacred values

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Pope Francis in a call on Thursday that the "immoral" Olympics opening ceremony had made a mockery of sacred values and called for a common…

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Bulgaria’s small ITN party gets mandate to form next government

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev gave the mandate to form a government on Monday to a small party that came sixth in last month's parliamentary vote, the latest attempt to build…

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Erdogan says Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort…

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Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB party fails to secure majority to form government

Bulgaria's prime minister-designate Rosen Zhelyazkov of the centre-right GERB party failed on Wednesday to secure support for his proposed cabinet in parliament, prolonging a political stalemate in the Balkan country.…

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North Macedonia parliament approves a new nationalist-dominated government

North Macedonia's lawmakers on Sunday approved a new nationalist-dominated government of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, whose party won general elections in May banking on voters' anger at the slow pace…

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People in Serbia, Montenegro advised to shelter indoors from heatwave

People braving scorching temperatures sought relief in Belgrade's Ada Ciganlija lake, fountains and cafes on Thursday while the Serbian government ordered employers to protect outdoor workers from the heatwave. Meteorologists…

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Albania’s former PM Berisha loses appeal against ban from UK

Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha, the country's former president and prime minister, on Monday lost his appeal against a ban on entering Britain over alleged criminal links.Berisha, head of Albania's…

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Bulgaria’s GERB party wins most seats in parliament

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party won 68 seats in the 240-seat parliament on Sunday and will need at least two coalition partners to form the cabinet, state election commission results on…

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Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB seen leading in snap national election

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party was seen in the lead after a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, an exit poll showed, but will have to find a coalition partners to form…

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Bulgaria holds another snap election to end political instability

Bulgarian voters head to the polling stations on Sunday for the sixth snap parliamentary election in three years, but analysts see little chance of it producing a stable coalition that…

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Serbia’s ruling SNS party wins elections in capital Belgrade

Serbia's ruling party defeated the opposition on Sunday in a vote for Belgrade city council and partial local elections across the country, marked by scuffles between opposition supporters and those…

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UN approves resolution to commemorate the 1995 Srebrenica genocide annually over Serb opposition

The United Nations approved a resolution Thursday establishing an annual day to commemorate the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs, a move vehemently opposed by…

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High winds and flash floods bring chaos to Serbia

Strong winds, hail and flash floods caused havoc across Serbia on Tuesday, with one person killed when a tree toppled on to her car. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the…

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Turkey convicts former pro-Kurdish party officials over protests

A Turkish court handed down convictions to former prominent officials of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, including co-leader Figen Yuksekdag, for their alleged role in inciting protests in 2014 following an…

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Right-wing opposition makes big gains in North Macedonia election

North Macedonia's right-wing opposition won big in parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday, on a night that saw the Balkan country also elect its first female head of state. Hundreds…

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North Macedonia votes in elections crucial for EU accession

North Macedonia will head to the polls on Wednesday in parliamentary and presidential elections in which the rightist opposition is expected to gain ground against a ruling party that has…

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Mladic defence seeks his release to Serbia on health grounds

Defence lawyers for Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the bloody 1992-95 war in Bosnia, are seeking his urgent release to…

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Turkey halts all trade with Israel

Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian territories. "Export and import transactions…

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Turkey backs Rutte as next NATO chief

Turkey has told allies that it will back the candidacy of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to be NATO's next secretary-general, a Turkish official said on Monday, an important step…

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Turkish kebabs turn to Europe for protected status

Turkey has filed an application to grant its best-known foodstuff the same EU protection as Neapolitan pizza and Spanish jamon serrano. Germany's most eaten street food the Turkish döner kebab…

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Croatia’s President can’t be Prime Minister – Court

The Constitutional Court of Croatia said that its President Zoran Milanović cannot become prime minister, after national elections handed him a potentially influential role in forming the Balkan country’s next…

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Ruling conservatives win Croatia election

The Croatian Democratic Union won parliamentary elections on Wednesday, however they will need support from the far right to stay in power. Croatia's governing conservatives won a sharply competitive election…

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Croatian ruling party wins election without majority

Croatia's ruling HDZ party won Wednesday's parliamentary election but with fewer seats than before and without a majority, according to preliminary results. The HDZ was won 60 seats in the…

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Croatia votes in popularity test for the long-ruling HDZ

Croats cast their votes on Wednesday in a parliamentary vote that will test the popularity of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his ruling conservative HDZ party, accused by opponents of…

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Croatia’s PM Plenkovic seeks 3rd term amidst corruption scandal and opposition

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic will bid for a third term in Croatia's parliamentary election next week but polls indicate his conservative HDZ party will lose its majority after a welter…

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