Croatia

The latest hearing in the case against Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic was held at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals in The Hague on Tuesday, when the first defence witness in their retrial for wartime crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia gave testimony behind closed doors.

Croatia has faced criticism for its record on minority rights. But the Italians of Rijeka are perhaps the exception.

Romania on Monday advanced for the first time to the semi-finals of the European Under-21 football championship, and so qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, after drawing France 0-0 on Monday evening in a Group C match of the tournament in Italy and San Marino, at the Dino Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena.

The new generation of believers in Croatia is taking a more contemporary approach to religion - using social media, pop culture and sports to spread the word.

Since 2015, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has been President of the Republic of Croatia. Prior to that, the 50-year-old NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy has so far been the highest ranking woman in the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Furthermore, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is the first female president of independent Croatia.

Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency will support the most active community of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. Such an arrangement was reached by Executive Director of BSMEPA, Dr. Boyko Takov and Mrs. Kremena Dervenkova, Executive Director of the Association of Bulgarian Leaders and Entrepreneurs (ABLE) at a meeting today.

Romania's Under-21 team succeeded a sensational victory against England, with a score of 4-2 (0-0) on Friday on the "Dino Manuzzi" Stadium in Cesena, in Group C of the European Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino.

A billboard ridiculing the issue of alleged corruption in Zagreb has gone viral in Croatia.

The Agony of Choice

Croatia's presidential election is not due before the second half of December, but the field of (self-declared) candidates is already getting crowded. Aside from the obvious, incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, former Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has also decided to throw his hat into the ring.

Belgrade High Court on Thursday found Zeljko Krnjacic, Milan Devcic, Darko Peric, Radovan Vlajkovic, Radisav Josipovic, Jovan Dimitrijevic, Sasa Stojanovic and Zoran Kosijer guilty of involvement in a war crime against civilians in Lovas in Croatia in October 1991.