Turkey’s President Erdogan wants functioning mosque in Athens

After, during a visit to Turkey at the beginning of this month, Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he wanted the closed Greek seminary on the island of Halki to reopen, on Saturday Turkish President Recep Erdogan demanded that, in return, the mosque in Athens be reopened, including with the construction of minarets.

The Halki seminary was closed in 1971 as a result of the Ankara-Athens tensions over Cyprus. Fethiye Mosque in Athens was built in 1458, during the Ottoman occupation of Greece, but has not been used as such since 1821.

Hundreds detained in Turkey over alleged Kurdish ties

735 people have been detained in a total of 156 police operations conducted last week in connection with the 20th anniversary of the capture of Kurdish leader Abdulla Ocalan, for alleged ties with the Kurdish Workers’ Party or support for Kurdish extremists. Weapons, munition and explosives, including improvised explosive devices have been found, the Anatolian news agency reports. The people detained are suspected of planning mass protests to mark the anniversary of Ocalan’s capture.

Kosovo marks 11 years since independence

The 11th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Kosovo, the youngest country of Europe, recognized by more than 100 UN member countries, was marked with a solemn session of the parliament of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj stated that 2019 would be a year of consolidation of the Kosovo state and that “all pending issues would be resolved at a regional and international level”, including reaching a final agreement on a legally binding mutual recognition, with Serbia, within the existing borders.

Thousands demand resignation of president of Montenegro

Around 3,500 people protested in Podgorica demanding the resignation of the President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, in light of a controversial deal for the financing of his party. The protestors gathered in front of the buildings of the chief prosecutor’s office, the presidency and parliament, shouting “Milo, thief!” and “Resign!”

Milo Djukanovic has been at the head of Montenegro, almost intermittently, since 1991. The protest was triggered by a recent statement by businessman Dusko Knezevic, who is known for his close connection with the government, and who has been charged with money laundering amounting to 500 million euro, that he had donated 97,000 euro in cash to Milo Djukanovic before the 2016 general election.

Dimitrovgrad takes back historical name Tsaribrod

Dimitrovgrad, a town in the border region of Eastern Serbia with a predominantly ethnic Bulgarian population, has officially returned to its historical name – Tsaribrod. The names “Dimitrovgrad” and “Tsaribrod” will be valid in equal measure in official documents and road signs in the Republic of Serbia. In the presence of Bulgarian ambassador Radko Vlaykov, a sign was put up on the wall of city hall with the name of the municipality of Tsaribrod in the Serbian and the Bulgarian language. Ethnic Bulgarians in Tsaribrod will soon be able to use the Bulgarian surname system.

Anti-government protest in Tirana turns violent

Supporters of the Albanian opposition clashed with police around the office building of Prime Minister Edi Rama. With demands for the prime minister’s resignation, the protestors threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at police, who used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd. 

Compiled by Stoimen Pavlov

English version: Milena Daynova