Latest News from Croatia
Balkan Countries Host ‘Immediate Response’ NATO Exercise
A US soldier gestures to a North Macedonian armoured vehicles near Kumanovo, North Macedonia. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI
Citizens of several Balkan countries over the weekend and on Monday have had an opportunity to see displays of military equipment being used for the NATO "Immediate Response" military exercise.
Torrential Rain Overflowing Rivers, Cause Chaos in Bosnia, Croatia
A state of natural disaster has been declared in Una-Sana Canton, one of ten cantons in Bosnia's Federation entity, after heavy rain.
"Our citizens have had a sleepless night, the situation is extremely difficult," Una-Sana Canton's Prime Minister, Mustafa Ruznic, said, N1 reported.
Many roads have been flooded, cutting off towns from the rest of the country. Photo: N1
EU Border Guards to Target Illegal Migration in Montenegro
Frontex officers check equipment in Skopje, North Macedonia. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI
Adzic signed an agreement with EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson and justice minister Gunnar Strommer to allow the deployment of the Frontex officers in Montenegro.
According to the agreement, Montenegrin police and Frontex can also organise joint operations.
Migrant Numbers Increase Despite Decline of ‘Balkan Route’ to EU
New data published by European border security agency Frontex on Monday showed that detections of irregular border crossings at the EU's external borders reached a total of nearly 80,700 in the first four months of 2023.
Italian police find $880 million of cocaine stashed in banana crates
Police in southern Italy said on Tuesday they had seized 2,700 kg of highly pure cocaine hidden in two refrigerated containers containing bananas that had been shipped from Ecuador.
The haul found in the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro would have been worth more than 800 million euros, Italy's Guardia di Finanza police said in a statement.
Serbian Wartime State Security Chiefs’ Appeal Verdict Due on May 31
The UN's International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague announced on Tuesday that the verdict on Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic's appeal against their conviction for war crimes in Bosnia will be handed down on May 31.
Belgrade and Skopje Airports ‘Hubs for Illicit Activities’: Report
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, GI-TOC, a Geneva-based NGO, published a report on Monday warning that Balkan airports are vulnerable to organised crime and that Belgrade and Skopje airports in particular are regional hubs for illicit activities.
Croatian Religious Conservatives Hold Anti-Abortion March
In the Name of the Family, a Catholic conservative group, organised an anti-abortion 'Walk for Life' march on Saturday in the eastern city of Osijek - the latest in a series of similar events nationwide.
Several hundred people gathered in Osijek's old city centre, Tvrdja, then headed towards Ante Starcevic Square, where speeches were made.
Pandemic and Earthquakes Take Toll on Young Croatians’ Mental Health
Boris Jokic from the Institute for Social Research told a panel discussion at the Journalists' House in Zagreb on Friday that the coronavirus pandemic and the large-scale earthquakes that hit Croatia in 2020 strengthened school pupils' relationships with their family and friends but negatively affected their mental health.
Ukrainian Grain: 12 EU countries objected to the Concessions for Bulgaria
Twelve European countries objected in a letter to the European Commission against the concessions it made to Bulgaria and four other EU members for the import of Ukrainian food.
Bosnian Pupils Taken on Religious March ‘for the Unborn’
High school pupils in the city of Mostar in south-west Bosnia and Herzegovina were taken by their school on Thursday on a 'Walk of Love for the Unborn', a Catholic religious march through the city, media reported.
It was not clear from the media reports if the pupils' consent or that of their parents was sought for their participation.
Bosnian Ministers Approve Controversial Gas Pipeline from Serbia
Bosnian Council of Ministers, the country's state-level executive government, voted on Thursday in favour of a construction of a new gas pipeline from Serbia.
The so-called Eastern Interconnection will bring natural gas to cities and towns in the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity.
Montenegro War Victims Legislation Criticised as ‘Discriminatory’
A Montenegrin parliament session in Podgorica. Photo: Parliament of Montenegro.
On Monday, parliament adopted the amendments proposed by the ruling Peace is Our Nation bloc enabling monthly compensation to be paid to family members of civilian war victims who were killed, died or disappeared during armed conflicts on the territory of Montenegro.
Slovenian minority elects its representatives in Croatia
The Slovenian minority in Croatia has elected its representatives in local communities amidst very low turnout. There will be Slovenian minority councils in nine local governments and Slovenian representatives in eight, Croatian Electoral Commission data shows.
Turkish contractors turning to Balkan countries
Turkish contractors are focusing more on the markets in the Balkan nations amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, projects in Romania in particular, business daily Dünya has reported.
Recently, Turkish companies won a tender worth 266 million euros to build a section of a highway in Romania.