Balkan News

A group of locals from Serbia’s second city of Novi Sad is working to maintain the labyrinth of tunnels hidden beneath the riverside Petrovaradin Fortress. BIRN followed them underground.

The summer season is festival time in Kosovo, when towns all over the country lure visitors by putting on films, art exhibitions and workshops - or, as in one case, stage crazy races on the river.

Europol report highlights return of foreign terrorist fighters from conflict areas to the countries of the Western Balkans as a matter of concern.

Ahead of Sunday's meeting between the Kosovo and Serbia Presidents, the two countries are still arguing over the agenda – while Germany has denied seeking Federica Mogherini's replacement as chief negotiator in the process.

Very few ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia will be rooting for the national team in the World Cup – for reasons dictated by past and present conflicts.

High hopes relating to change and the removal of longstanding obstacles to progress in the region inevitably go hand in hand with high fears, as our selection of articles this week shows.

Romania’s Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced Social Democrat Party chief Liviu Dragnea to three-and-a-half years in jail for abuse of office, his second corruption sentence in three years. 

Turkey’s growing political engagement with the Balkans is now matched by a sharp increase in exports to the region – of 22 per cent in first five months of this year.

A leading scientific journal from Zagreb has published a special issue on the controversial killings at Bleiburg in 1945 – aiming to shed light on how this crime has been misused and manipulated in history.

Football's global governing body has fined Serbia for its fans' offensive behaviour during Sunday's World Cup match with Costa Rica.

Romania’s ruling Social Democrats rally against ‘abuse’ was a hypocritical attempt by the party to legitimise its crackdown on the judiciary that revived the style and language of the old communist regime.

The spectacle of Macedonia’s citizens toppling their corrupt government – and then resolving a major historic dispute – justifiably worries entrenched illiberal regimes across the Balkans.

An iconic pyramid building constructed 30 years ago to house a museum celebrating Communist leader Enver Hoxha has fallen into disrepair, but plans are under way to transform it into a digital technology hub.

The charming hilltop village of Vuno in southern Albania, in the municipality of Himare, overlooking the Ionian Sea, is attracting more and more tourists during the summer, seeking a glimpse of life in times past.

The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee has called on Serbia to stop its police from habitually using violence to force suspects to confess to crimes.

Thousands of Romanians took to the streets again on Wednesday night to protest recently revised criminal codes that critics say are a backward step in the fight against corruption. 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Belgrade had not 'congratulated' Macedonia or Greece over their historic agreement as there was 'nothing to congratulate' as yet.

Former Serbian security service official Franko Simatovic’s defence told the UN court that a journalist who testified that the service controlled Serbian paramilitaries in the Croatian and Bosnian wars was not credible.

Politicians on both sides of the political fence expressed dismay on Wednesday after a court invalidated the result of the June 3 election for the post of Mayor of Chisinau. 

Macedonia's landmark agreement with Greece over its name has passed its first hurdle, after the country's parliament ratified the deal on Wednesday.