Pro-government media say the resignation of one key figure over a stock market scandal shows the rule of law works impartially in Turkey. Courts’ treatment of opposition leaders suggests otherwise.

A wave of new housing is transforming Prague’s outskirts, but disputes over developers, schools, municipal oversight have prompted a group of locals to take an unusual step: entering politics to fight for a say in how their community grows.

Eleven men in Serbia speak of their experiences of sexual violence and harassment - and explain their reasons for not reporting it.

New election likely as political parties fail to agree on electing a president and protesters keep up pressure for adoption of law curbing powers of Kosovo Specialist Chambers, following its conviction of wartime guerrilla leaders.

Kremlin-friendly PM condemns attack on two international cargo ships in Bulgarian waters as 'crude violation of law' – but opposition criticises him for not pointing finger at Moscow.

Lawyers for one of 14 people targeted by Pegasus spyware file criminal complaint against Serbian intelligence agency officials, police and the Israeli company behind the surveillance technology after institutions fail to react.

After violent clashes on Monday night, protesters started to reassemble in Pristina to demand legal changes to curb the powers of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court following convictions of guerrilla leaders.

Nearly two years after it was created, Serbia’s student movement is contesting a national election – but experts warn that winning power would only be the start of the challenge.

Phishing and text message scams have risen significantly in Albania, with scammers using trusted names like Albania Post - prompting calls for more institutional expertise and better awareness campaigns.

The dominant ethnic-based parties scored highest in Sunday’s general elections, although a record low turnout hinted at growing apathy towards all parties.

MPs in first reading adopt major changes to law governing the Hague-based war crimes court following conviction of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders – although enforcement requires second vote.

New rule obliging voters abroad to follow polling hours based on Central European Time means some diaspora Serbians in countries like the US and Australia will have to cast ballots in the middle of the night.

Catch up on the weekend’s most important developments with Balkan Insight’s digest of news from countries across the region.

The number of whistleblower reports has increased since the end of three decades of rule by the Democratic Party of Socialists, but few cases ever reach court.

Amid a major turnout fall, Milorad Dodik’s Serb nationalist party secured its dominant role in Republika Srpska while Croat candidate Darijana Filipovic looks set to become the new member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency.

The fate of Budapest’s House of Terror, a controversial museum which focuses on life under totalitarianism in the 20th century, could spark another round of the ‘culture war’.

Norwegian aid worker Tommy Olsen says his trial in Greece is about discouraging others from ever coming to the aid of refugees and migrants reaching Europe’s shores.

Plavsic, who died this week, was the only high-ranking woman political leader prosecuted for mass atrocities by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. She expressed sorrow for these acts in court – but then changed her mind.

Women get a raw deal at elections in Bosnia, a spy chief’s arrest raises security questions in Albania and protesters challenge war crimes verdicts in Kosovo - plus much more in our selection of this week’s Balkan Insight Premium stories.

The capital is thronged with people wearing replica shirts in tribute to national football team captain Edin Dzeko, who plays his final international match for Bosnia and Herzegovina against Sweden on Friday.

Police from 19 countries attended the Carpathian Blue Shield 2026 exercise in Romania to share knowledge on how to control violent demonstrations and subdue unrest.

As abortion access remains restricted in Poland, activists have turned to a technology that Poles already use for almost everything else – just steps away from parliament.

The introduction of ballot scanners and fingerprint checks to curb election fraud are a rare innovation in an electoral process that’s been dominated by same-old politicians and promises.

Studies show that an increasing number of young people are being diagnosed with certain types of cancer in European countries.

Elsewhere, Russia retaliates by expelling Hungarian diplomats; Poland changes rules of engagement for shooting down airborne threats; Slovak PM Fico juggles jobs and coalition; and Czech coalition survives no-confidence vote.

Hundreds of websites and social media accounts have been blocked in Turkey as a crackdown on LGBTQ+ groups spreads to independent media – and even to posts about a stock market scandal.

Security expert Arjan Dyrmishi tells BIRN the “whole system of intelligence governance” has been brought into question by the arrest of the head of Albania’s State Intelligence Service.

Crowdfunding, donations and the volunteer spirit are driving Serbia’s cycling students towards the election finish line on October 25 - while Aleksandar Vucic is promoting a ‘man of the people’ image as he tours the country by car.

Large crowds attend rally in Pristina against Hague court verdict convicting four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders of war crimes, with protest speaker attacking 'double standards when it comes to justice'.

Wartime vice-president of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, the only woman ever convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, dies in Belgrade – to the end maintaining she had 'done nothing wrong'.

A free press in Slovenia is at risk from the return to office of the populist Janez Jansa and media ownership changes that are shaking up the sector.

If voters backing various Russian-friendly candidates in the first round switch to ruling party-backed Iliana Iotova in the run-off vote, her path to winning the presidency looks more likely, experts predict.

As caesarean births outnumber vaginal births, we want to hear about your experiences with childbirth options in Greece.

Bosnia’s laws on women’s representation on election lists look progressive; in reality, parties subvert them by burying women at the bottom of lists, so they don’t get elected.

Siegfried Muresan's failure to secure parliamentary backing in a vote extends Romania’s political deadlock into a fifth month.

Under pressure from protesters, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic vowed last year to root out corruption. Dozens of arrests followed, but more than 18 months later, barely a handful of people have actually ended up in court.

Three suspects plead not guilty to violating Kosovo's constitutional order by setting up barricades in the Serb-majority north during protests in 2022.

Kosovo's prime minister presses opposition to agree on a new head of state before October 6 deadline triggers fresh parliamentary polls.

Enes Baralic, co-inventor of the ‘Sarafix’, an innovative tool used to save countless limbs from amputation during the Bosnian war, has died aged 84.

Prosecutors seek to freeze all assets of former minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya and her husband, as probe widens into into alleged wrongdoing in capital markets.

BIRN pieces together how smugglers use their intimate knowledge of mountain roads and monitoring of police movements to move illicit cigarettes from Montenegro into Bosnia and beyond.

The anti-government protests that rocked Albania this summer will not jeopardise its EU membership prospects – but will feed into a broader assessment of Tirana’s respect for democracy and that rule of law.

A new investigation borrows the methods of forensic architecture to argue that deaths in the Polish-Belarusian borderlands since 2021 cannot be blamed on the cold alone. Poland's Interior Ministry says the report distorts the picture.

Clint Williamson recalls investigating the four guerrilla commanders recently convicted of war crimes, questions Kosovo’s failure to temper public expectations of an acquittal, and ponders the future of international justice at a time of “dysfunctionality” in the UN Security Council.

Authorities have approved three new permits for tourist complexes in a protected area in Zvernec – where a project backed by Jared Kushner triggered the ‘Flamingo Revolution’ protests.

Ruling party mayor Aleksandar Sapic denies assaulting opposition councillor and breaking her nose and jaw in a street altercation - saying he only defended himself against the woman's husband.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas’ resignation from the Republican People’s Party has worsened the embattled opposition’s plight ahead of the next elections – potentially benefitting Turkey’s authoritarian president.

Led by the country’s wealthiest man, Czechoslovak Group regularly makes the headlines for bumper profits, hushed-up disputes and aggressive business practices.

With midterms approaching and polls looking bad, the US administration seems to be mulling Balkan-style election giveaways – while also giving democratic backsliders and war crimes deniers a free pass.

Although almost half of all women are believed to experience some form of sexual dysfunction in the course of their lives, Montenegro's public healthcare system offers almost no relief.