Balkans

Slovakia Grapples With the ‘Big Business’ of Disinformation

As conspiracy websites mushroom, Slovak fact-checkers hit back at the peddlers of false truths where it hurts them most – in their wallets. In the midst of Slovakia’s preparations for the impending third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public is still preoccupied with doubts about vaccines and distrust in …

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Korčok, Kövér és a megbocsátás

Ivan Korčok külügyminiszter rendkívül tapasztalt diplomata hírében áll, mégis, ha a magyarokról van szó, porcelánboltban randalírozó elefántként kezd viselkedni. Korčok szerdán egy Facebook-bejegyzésben élesen bírálta Kövér Lászlót, a Magyar Országgyűlés fideszes elnökét, aki beszédet mondott a Somorjáról Kitelepített Magyarok Emlékművénél. Hogy egészen konkrétan melyik szövegrésszel volt problémája a külügyminiszternek, az …

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Viktor Orban Has Gone From Outlier to Precursor

It’s perhaps a sign of the times that a visit to Hungary by an American television personality known for his provocations on race and immigration has generated international news coverage. But the visit by Tucker Carlson—whose Fox News program has become a clearinghouse of far-right talking points, and misinformation, in …

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H γη καίγεται, οι ζωές καταστρέφονται, το μέλλον φαίνεται αβίωτο. Μαζί με την οργή και τη θλίψη, χρειάζεται αγώνας, άμεση δράση και στρατηγικό σχέδιο.

Την ώρα που γράφονται αυτές οι γραμμές (απόγευμα Τρίτης, 3 Αυγούστου) ολόκληρη η Αττική έχει σκεπαστεί από ένα μαύρο σύννεφο καπνού από την μεγάλη φωτιά της Βαρυμπόμπης. Μέχρι στιγμής, η πυρκαγιά μαίνεται ανεξέλεγκτη καταστρέφοντας δασικές εκτάσεις και κατοικίες, οδηγώντας σε εκτεταμένες εκκενώσεις οικισμών. Την ίδια στιγμή, βρίσκονται σε εξέλιξη πυρκαγιές …

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Albania Thanks Syria for Repatriation of Albanian Nationals

The Albanian Ambassador to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan Mark Gharib expressed appreciation for the efforts conducted by Syria to help in the repatriation of Albanian nationals, including 5 women and 14 children, from the al-Hol Camp in the province of al-Hassakeh. Gharib, in a statement to journalists at the Damascus …

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‘They’re Police’: Hapless Albanian Drug Couriers and a Minister’s Muscle

After a brief, inauspicious career ferrying drugs across the Adriatic, two hapless Albanian speedboat drivers decided to come clean, exposing the powerful connections and police support that traffickers enjoy. Early on the morning of August 4, 2016, two Albanians disembarked from a speedboat and ordered coffee at a bar near …

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Pegasus: A Spy Story Turning into a Nightmare

The surveillance scandal and subsequent lack of government action is a national scandal that threatens Hungarian democracy. he spyware and the covert surveillance used against journalists, civilians and an opposition mayor could be the most severe abuse of power in Hungary since the democratic transition three decades ago. “Shocking”, “unbelievable”, …

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Trial Evidence Contradicts Claims In Bosnian Serbs’ Srebrenica Report – Analysis

A report by a Bosnian Serb-funded commission has claimed the Srebrenica massacres were not genocide and most victims were not civilians – but some of its controversial assertions are contradicted by evidence heard at trials at international courts. A report published last week by a commission to scrutinise events in …

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Death by a Thousand Derogations: The Geneva Refugee Convention and the EU

How a brief crisis at Europe’s borders created an opportunity to challenge a 70-year-old international law safeguarding the rights of refugees. Her real name cannot be revealed and even the particulars of her story were nearly lost to the Greek justice system. Her lawyers asked that we identify her by …

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Christophe Najdovski: North Macedonia’s Capital Must Learn from Paris’s Green Revolution

Paris’s Deputy Mayor in charge of greenery and biodiversity – who is of Macedonian descent – tells BIRN that Skopje must make the same tough choices as Paris has done, if it wants to remain liveable. If a Skopje mayoral candidate ahead of the autumn local elections promised to scrap …

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