Croatia

Former Serbian paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic, alias Captain Dragan, who was convicted of committing war crimes against Croatian civilians and prisoners of war in 1991, was released from Lepoglava prison in northern Croatia on Saturday morning after serving his 13-and-a-half-year sentence.

The European Commission promised that on Monday it will to come up with guideline measures against COVID-19 for all Member States, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told a news conference on March 26 after participating in a video conference meeting of the European Council.

Just outside the majestic walls of Croatia's medieval citadel city of Dubrovnik lies a cluster of small stone houses, the Lazarettos of Dubrovnik, best known as an art and clubbing hub and a tourist attraction.

Under conditions of crisis, European solidarity should not remain only in words. The quick coping with the situation created by the coronavirus in Europe requires that the European institutions and member states should pool joint efforts. This was the common stance adopted by the Presidents of Bulgaria and Portugal, Rumen Radev and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who held a telephone conversation.

European affairs ministers agreed Tuesday to allow Albania and North Macedonia to begin European Union membership talks, paving the way for the bloc's leaders to sign off on the move that could end years of setbacks and disappointment for the two Balkan nations.

In the semi-democracies of the region, as lives moved from the public to the digital sphere, many freedoms were likewise suspended, while the burden of responsibility for violations fell on citizens as government imposed restrictions that in many cases flouted normal standards of human rights.

The United States has refused to issue entry visas for 9.75% of all applications submitted by Bulgarians in 2019, according to the European Commission. Statistics show a steady decline in refusals - from 17.3% in 2015, 16.9% in 2016, 14.97% in 2017 and 11.32% in 2018, BNR reported.

Messages of support and offers of help have poured into Croatia after Sunday's earthquake of at least 5.3 magnitudes, which hit the capital and injured dozens of people as well as damaging buildings.

Republika Srpska had 29 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Thursday, and 23 of them are in Banja Luka.

The country has introduced emergency measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection. All restaurants and cafes are closed, and only grocery stores and pharmacies are still working.

A powerful earthquake rocked Croatia at 6:24am local time on Sunday morning just seven kilometres north of the capital, Zagreb, said the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, EMSC.

Many buildings were damaged, with walls and rooftops cracking. Dozens were injured, with a 15-year-old suffering life-threatening injuries.