All News from Balkans

Macedonia Unveils Proposal for New Coat of Arms

Macedonia's cabinet has put forward a proposal for a new state emblem set to replace the one Skopje has had for the past twenty-two years.

The fierce-looking red lion against the background of a golden shield and a crown should "restore the country's historic symbols," MINA news agency reports.

Turkish PM Davutoğlu calls for closer cooperation during Athens visit

Turkish PM Davutoğlu has called for a closer cooperation with Greece during his visit to Athens as part of the third High Level Strategic Council between both countries, while playing down differences, particularly on the Cyprus issue

Acclaimed writer Menis Koumandareas, 83, found murdered in Athens home

The acclaimed Greek writer Menis Koumandareas was found murdered in his home on Saturday morning in the central Athenian neighborhood of Kypseli.

The 83-year-old writer lived alone. His body was discovered by a nephew who became concerned for his well-being after being unable to contact his uncle.

South Stream 'Not Yet Halted' - Bulgaria EconMin

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski announced on Sunday Sofia is still waiting for an official notice saying the South Stream project is over.

Lukarski told Darik Radio it was not yet clear how much the country would lose if the project is really scrapped. In his words, Russian President Vladimir Putin's estimate of EUR 400 B is "an ephemeral number".

NATO 'Mulls Monitoring Mechanism for Bulgaria'

An unprecedented mechanism to oversee the way Bulgaria is spending funds on its army's modernization, NATO sources claim, quoted by a daily newspaper.

The alliance is now considering to make sure that Sofia will reach interoperability of the armed forces with those of other NATO members, Sega quotes the sources as saying.

Bulgaria's DPS Urges Debates over Preferential Voting

DPS leader Lyutvi Mestan ha called on politicians to start a debate on whether and how to keep the recently-introduced preference-voting system in the national legislation preventing any risk of abuse.

Mestan heads Bulgaria's third-largest party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), dominated by ethnic Turks.

Mogherini Calls on Russia to Avoid Involving Balkans in Dispute over Ukraine

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has called on Russia not to involve Southeast Europe in the Moscow-Brussels dispute over the Ukraine crisis.

Mogherini's comments come after Russia announced earlier this week it was scrapping the South Stream gas pipeline project, citing Bulgaria's reluctance to unfreeze construction.

Half of transgender sex workers subjected to police violence: Report

A report drafted by a civil rights organization has drawn a picture of the plight of transgender individuals in Turkey, finding that half of all transgender women sex workers in the country have been subjected to physical violence from police. It also states that the murder of transgender individuals in Turkey amounts to 40 percent of the total number of such killings in all of Europe.

More inspection on wallet on way with transparency reform

The Turkish government is bidding to minimize the informal economy by increasing inspections in a number of fields - from people's income to municipalities' construction licenses - with a new transparency reform package, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament within a month.

More inspections on way with transparency reform

The Turkish government is bidding to minimize the informal economy by increasing inspections in a number of fields - from people's income to municipalities' construction licenses - with a new transparency reform package, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament within a month.

The Church from Byzantium to the Ottomans

If the Eastern Orthodox Churches had not split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054, the Ottoman Turks would have found it much more difficult to conquer Constantinople The break between the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church is dated to 1054, although some believe the circumstances that led up to the rupture started nearly 900 years earlier.

Constitutional Court as the new ‘coup’

Turkey’s political lunacy is not likely to end anytime soon. Its latest episode is the condemnation of the Constitutional Court as the headquarters of yet another “coup attempt” against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

And here comes Iran

You know what they say: “Coming events cast their shadows first,” so we already knew this was coming. Even though it was not announced with trumpets, by bombing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in Iraq on Dec. 3, Iran has joined the anti-ISIL coalition.

This has totally been a game-changer, transforming the entire equation, but what does this mean for Turkey?

Turkey drifting towards irrationalism

Barely a day passes without a new example of how our discussions in Turkey are becoming increasingly irrational. What is ironic is that pundits, journalists, diplomats, academics, etc. are constantly spending their time and energy trying to rationalize the irrational.

Why are Turkish men paying out of their noses to be exempt from military service?

I was in Israel last week, where I saw a picture of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife posing with their youngest son, who is about to be conscripted into the Israeli army. Israel has mandatory military service and, as the photo shows, there are no exemptions. Even young women serve.

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