Polish Legacy, Balkan Heritage: the Perspective of North Macedonia – online panel
An online public debate organized by two Polish universities will present the legacy of cultural exchange between Poland and North Macedonia and the current context of EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans and its cultural and identity dimension, paying a special attention to Poland’s...
Epidemy of Lies in the Balkans – online panel discussion organized by Istinomer on December 14
On the occasion of its 11th birthday, the first fact-checking media outlet in the Balkans region Istinomer will organize the online panel discussion “Epidemy of Lies on the Balkans” which will be held on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 16:00 CET on Zoom.
Istinomer, based...
The Macedonian journey towards complete agreement with Bulgaria much like firewalking
Bulgaria's refusal to approve EU's negotiating framework for North Macedonia at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of EU's member countries i.e. the EU's General Affairs Council (GAC) on the 17th of November 2020 was expected, as it was announced and has been...
Top songs about Amsterdam by musicians from the region of former Yugoslavia
Since the 1970s musicians from former Yugoslavia (which at the time was one country) have been making songs about Amsterdam. The capital of the Netherlands had gained almost mythical status in the pop culture of the region due to the opportunities for activities...
Nikolay Krstev: Bulgaria leads the anti-Bulgarian campaign in Macedonia
Nikolay Krstev, an experienced journalist, a former correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) from Moscow and Belgrade, but also a renowned analyst and someone who is well acquainted with the situation in the Western Balkans for offnews.bg said that it is a problem...
North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania sign free travel agreements without mandatory COVID-19 tests
North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania agreed to re-initiate free border crossing of their citizens without mandatory COVID-19 PCR tests, as well as free medical treatment of patients in the respective countries that are part of the Berlin Process.
North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, accompanied...
Bishop’s funeral in Montenegro leads to wider spread of COVID19
The sight of thousands of people waiting to kiss the mortal remains of the Serbian Orthodox Christian bishop Amfilohije Radović in Montenegro caused outrage in the Balkans. Several days later, reported infections of top Serbian religious figures, including Partiarch Irinej, indicate that the lavish...
Keith Brown: Critical thinking demands recognition of one’s own blinkers, prejudices and areas of ignorance
“Balkan history has been shaped by the territorial ambitions and disputes of the last century, and so has become a zero-sum game; it also has quasi-religious aspects, insofar as current debates reveal an implicit concern with purity and pollution underlying accusations around loyalty and...
Eruption of COVID-19 cases in the Balkans, the countries in the region are imposing restrictions again (Infographic)
Europe is again the hotspot of the infections with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The Balkan peninsula is especially affected by the new outbreak of infections. The curves of the graphics in all countries in the region move upwards, something that...
CDT suggests abandoning the practice of collecting data on ethnic, religious or linguistical affiliation during Montenegro’s census
The Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT) from Podgorica, the leading civil society organization fostering development of democracy in Montenegro, on October 20 published an initiative not to collect data on nation, religion and language in the upcoming census.
CTD proposed the initiative with an aim...
EU: Building wire fence on border between Macedonia and Serbia not part of the agreement with Serbia
The European Union has rejected the claims that the building of a wire fence between Serbia and North Macedonia is part of an agreement with Serbia.
As was announced by the EU Commission's spokeswoman, Ana Pisonero, Brussels is providing significant financial and technical aid to...
Bulgarian Jews: Dubbing people “Sorosoids” both by Karakachanov and anyone else equals sheer Antisemitism
The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” castigated Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Krassimir Karakachanov’s comment that “NGOs in Bulgaria backed by George Soros want to overtake the power in order to introduce gay marriage” and called this kind of...
Nikola Dimitrov’s Twitter profile recognized as the best administered profile in digital diplomacy
The analysis published by the Digital Diplomacy blog shows that the North Macedonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs' official profiles in the social networks have the best diplomatic activity and communication qualities among many countries in the region. With skillful communication of its diplomacy and...
Serbia’s first #MeToo trial ends with three-month prison sentence for high-profile predator
A local strongman notorious for harassment of female employees in a remote Serbian municipality received a three-month prison sentence in a trial billed as the first high-profile #MeToo case in the country, Global Voices reported.
The trial of the 58-year-old former mayor of the town...
‘Thousands of cameras’ – documentary exposes the dangers of mass biometric surveillance in Serbia
A civic initiative, #hiljadekamera , composed of concerned citizens, experts and digital rights organisations, has been vocal about the deterioration of privacy in Serbia resulting form massive introduction of video surveillance system with advanced face recognition in the capital Belgrade.
Government of Serbia in cooperation...
Crta: Minimalni standardi ispunjeni na izborima u Srbiji, demokratija ugrožena
Parlamentarni izbori 2020. su po kvalitetu i izbornog dana i, u još većoj meri, celokupnog izbornog procesa najlošiji izbori koje je Crta do sada posmatrala od 2016. godine naovamo – zaključak je Posmatračke misije Centra za istraživanje, transparentnost i odgovornost (CRTA), objavila ja organizacija...
Serbian parliamentary elections campaign features Greek beaches and Chinese robots
After a COVID-19 imposed hiatus, Serbia announced that it will hold its postponed parliamentary elections on June 21. Some of the biggest opposition parties will boycott the elections, blaming the government it had not provided fair game conditions. Ruling parties, on the other hand,...
Truthmeter: Spanish Flu and Оther Infections Wreaked Havoc in Macedonia at the End of First World War
The end of World War I on the territory of the Southern Balkans and on the territory of today’s Macedonian state, in addition to major military destruction and victims of military operations, was marked with the outbreak of the Spanish flu epidemic. The disease, caused by the...
Greek literary magazine published a portrait of Macedonian linguist and poet Blaže Koneski, translating 6 of his poems
The Greek literary magazine Hartis (Χάρτης, meaning "map") published a portrait of the Macedonian linguist, writer, translator, poet and member of Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Blaže Koneski (1921-1993). The article, titled "Synaxaria" (Συναξάρια) was published in the June 2020 issue of the...
Serbian FM Dačić distances himself from election video depicting voters as ‘zombies’
The president of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dačić distanced himself from election video clip published on Twitter by Branko Ružić, the vice president of the SPS executive board.
Both politicians serve as ministers in the coalition government of Republic of Serbia. Dačić...
