Thousands of Romanians protest in Bucharest

More than 6,000 Romanians protested downtown Bucharest, demanding the resignation of the left-wing government headed by Viorica Dancila, as well as holding of early elections. People fear that proposed changes in the justice system would weaken the fight against corruption. Main organizers of the protests against the Romanian government are Romanians working and living abroad. Anti-government demonstrations have also taken place in several of the other major cities in the country. On Friday evening, as a result of clashes between the gendarmerie and protesters, more than 450 people, including 35 policemen suffered injuries.

Turkish lira continues to depreciate

For just three days, the Turkish lira lost more than 30 percent of its value against the US dollar and the euro after on Friday US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Turkey. Relations between the NATO allies have sharply worsened in recent weeks because of the arrest of an American pastor in Turkey and Ankara's decision to buy air-defense systems from Russia. The collapse of the lira is one of the most serious economic crises Turkish President Erdogan has faced since he came to power in 2003.

Eurozone rescue fund pays final bailout loan to Greece

The Eurozone rescue fund has announced it paid Greece the last bailout loan worth 15 billion euros (USD 17.3 billion) after Germany's objections delayed the payment by several weeks. The European Stability Mechanism specified that 9.5 billion euros of the loan will be used to create a cash buffer to help Greece cover its financial needs for nearly two years. The remaining 5.5 billion euros will go for the payment of part of the country's considerable debt.

70 percent of young Albanians want to leave the country

70 percent of young Albanians are willing to leave the country and go to one of the EU Member States if they had the opportunity. This is what a report published by the Albanian National Youth Network (ANYN) shows. One of the main reasons why young people decide to leave and see their future outside the country is unemployment. According to the World Labor Organization, 32% of young people in Albania are unemployed.

Majority of Macedonians support EU and NATO membership, according to survey data

41.5% of Macedonians would give a positive answer to the referendum question "Do you support EU and NATO membership through the adoption of the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?", while 35.1% will vote "against", according to the results of a by M-Perspect Agency. The majority of respondents - 66.4% said they would vote in the referendum and 19.8% would join the referendum boycott initiative. 88 percent of ethnic Albanians would vote "for", while 2.2 percent are against. Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, the poll showed strong support for Macedonia's EU membership (80.4%) and NATO (79.9%).

More than 4,000 Muslims from the Balkans go to Hajj in Mecca

More than 4000 Muslims from Balkan countries are to take part in the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca – the Hajj. Most numerous are the pilgrims from Bosnia and Herzegovina - 1680 and Kosovo - 1080. Pilgrims from Macedonia are 672; from Albania – 470; from Serbia – 235; 60 from Montenegro, 15 from Croatia. According to the Chief Mufti's Office in Sofia, 277 Bulgarian Muslims would travel to Mecca this year. 80 of them live in Bulgaria, while over 190 live Turkey or other European countries and have dual citizenship. Pilgrims from Bulgaria started their journey on August 10 and will return on September 10. The Hajj itself is on August 21 when the Kurban Bayram takes place.

Compiled by: Manuel Savov

English: Alexander Markov