Herzegovina

Montenegro was jolted awake by a powerful earthquake in the early hours of this morning, sending shockwaves across the region. According to reports from various seismological agencies, the earthquake measured between 5.3 and 5.7 on the Richter scale, striking fear into the hearts of residents.

At today's meeting with the top officials of the Belarusian security agencies in Minsk, Lukashenko said that there is no country that can call itself safe.

Defense Minister Todor Tagarev revealed that Bulgaria is contemplating involvement in fresh overseas operations given the current global situation. While specifics weren't disclosed, recent discussions have revolved around contributing to an international initiative safeguarding shipping in the Red Sea, although deploying a ship isn't an immediate consideration.

A recent EU survey by YouGov and Datapraxis conducted across six member states highlights contrasting opinions on potential expansions. Support for Ukraine's accession emerges, but skepticism looms over Turkey and the Western Balkans. The findings impact upcoming decisions at the European Council summit regarding EU enlargement and budget allocation.

The Survey's Key Insights:

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale was registered last night in the area of the city of Targu Jiu, Romania, reports the National Seismological Center at the Bulgarian Academy of Science.

The tremor at 00:39 a.m. Bulgarian time had an epicenter 260 kilometers from Sofia.

As part of our unwavering commitment to fostering journalistic cooperation and knowledge exchange between regions, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Travel & Reporting Grants Program.

On the third day of the Internet Freedom Meet in Belgrade, BIRN presented its months-long research report titled "Hidden in Plain Sight: Telco Accountability Research Using Ranking Digital Rights Methodology".

The research showed that the customers of telecom companies in five Balkan countries and Moldova face challenges in making sure their rights to privacy are respected.

Applying methodology developed by Ranking Digital Rights, an independent research programme at the Washington-based New America policy think-tank, BIRN analysed the practices of the two biggest telecom companies in each country: Albtelecom and Vodafone Albania in Albania; BH Telecom and Telekom Srpske in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ipko and Vala in Kosovo; A1 and T-Mobile in North Macedonia; Moldce

Western Balkan Ministers for Telecommunications signing the agreement in Belgrade to gradually remove all roaming costs in the region. Photo: Information Society Ministry of North Macedonia.

Coverage limited in northern Kosovo

Dejan, then 20, had been nearing the end of his military service in Kosovo, then a southern province of Serbia, when NATO launched air strikes to halt a brutal Serbian counter-insurgency war. At the time, Serbia and Montenegro were all that was left of Yugoslavia, still joined together after the other four republics - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia - had seceded.