May, 2023

• 14 May

  Doubts Dog Serbia’s ‘Tougher Punishment’ Response To Violent Crime – Analysis

  

  Serbia is poised to cut the minimum age of criminal responsibility after a 13-year-old went on a shooting spree in a Belgrade school, reaching for the kind of ‘tougher punishment’ response it has deployed before. Studies, however, raise doubts about the deterrent effect. When, in the hours that followed an …

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• 13 May

  Meagre Resources Leave Montenegro Exposed to Cyber Threats

  

  Months after government servers were hit by sophisticated cyber-attacks, questions remain over Montenegro’s readiness to confront the next inevitable assault, experts say. First they blamed Russia, then a gang called Cuba Ransomware. Months later, authorities in Montenegro still have no definitive answer as to who was behind “unprecedented” cyber-attacks in …

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• 13 May

  Migrants’ Mass Expulsions from Croatia Raise Legal Doubts

  

  Croatia and Bosnia say the expulsion of hundreds of migrants and refugees from the first to the second country are regulated by a bilateral agreement – but NGOs, rights groups and a legal expert question its legality. Since the end of March 2023, hundreds of migrants and refugees have been …

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• 13 May

  PARDONED FAR-RIGHT EXTREMIST RIDES TO FREEDOM IN HUNGARY

  

  Shrewd political ploy or justice served? Just why did Hungary’s president pardon Gyorgy Budahazy, a notorious extremist convicted of terrorism. Upon his unexpected release from prison, Gyorgy Budahazy, a notorious far-right activist, jumped on a horse and rode away triumphantly – straight to the nearest pub. What seemed like a …

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• 13 May

  SLOVAKIA TO GET ‘EXPERT’ GOVERNMENT BUT RETURN TO POPULISM LOOMS

  

  There is the real prospect of the pro-Russian nationalist-populist Robert Fico returning to power after the September election. Slovakia is set for its third government in as many years after Eduard Heger stepped down as prime minister on Sunday. Even though the full details of the interim technocratic government that …

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• 13 May

  China’s Changing Global Economic Relations As Reflected In Foreign Trade Data – Analysis

  

  On May 9, China’s General Administration of Customs released the latest data on the country’s foreign trade, revealing changes in the situation facing the Chinese economy and its relationship with global economies. In the first four months of this year, the total value of China’s foreign trade imports and exports …

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• 13 May

  Middle Eastern Rivalries Are Alive And Kicking Despite De-Escalation – Analysis

  

  Middle Eastern battlegrounds are alive and kicking even though rivals seek to balance contentious relations. Take efforts by the United Arab Emirates, and more recently Saudi Arabia, to bring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in from the cold in a bid to drive a wedge between Syria and Iran and address …

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• 13 May

  ‘Bank Walk’: The First Domino To Fall? – OpEd

  

  In early May, Reuters published a report that truly captured my attention. “European savers are pulling more of their money from banks, looking for a better deal as lenders resist paying up to hold on to deposits some feel they can currently live without,” the article reported. Over in the …

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• 13 May

  Money Supply Has Plummeted In Biggest Drop Since The Great Depression – Analysis

  

  Money supply growth fell again in March, plummeting further into negative territory after turning negative in November 2022 for the first time in twenty-eight years. March’s drop continues a steep downward trend from the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years. Since April 2021, money supply growth …

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• 13 May

  World Bank gives Kosovo glowing report as EU hopes intensify

  

  Kosovo has recorded stable economic progress while reducing the poverty rate and increasing per capita income, according to The World Bank, which approved the new Country Partnership Framework for the fiscal years 2023-2037. The World Bank found an increase of nearly 50% in per capita income and a 35% reduction …

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