Macedonia accuses Albania of interfering in its internal affairs

It is improper and inappropriate when a Premier of a neighboring country interferes directly in our internal affairs, especially when Macedonia held democratic elections, Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki said. Earlier, Albania's Premier Edi Rama supported the declaration of three Albanian leaders in Macedonia. They called for constitutional changes in Macedonia and the introduction of Albanian language as official language in that country. They also insisted that the state symbols of that country should change.

Serbia asks several countries to reinforce security around Serbian diplomatic offices

Serbia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked several countries to reinforce security around Serbian diplomatic offices which, according to information of the security services, have become potential targets of Albanian terrorists. Belgrade asked Switzerland, Turkey, Germany, Italy and Belgium to enhance securityof Serbian embassies. The diplomats in those countries were instructed by official Belgrade to increase safety measures to the highest level. For the time being Serbia is not planning to withdraw its staff from those countries.

Economy of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus entirely dependent on Turkey

The economy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is entirely dependent on Turkey and the incomes of the Turkish Cypriots are much lower than the ones of the Greek Cypriots, Phileleftheros newspaper informs. According to data of that newspaper, in 2015 the incomes of the Turkish Cypriots amounted to USD 13,457 per capita, whereas incomes of Greek Cypriots were to the tune of USD 23,242 per capita.

Romania issues international arrest warrant for former MP Sebastian Ghita

Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice issued a European arrest warrant for formed MP Sebastian Ghita who received several indictments over corruption. Ghita's name and personal information entered Interpol's system. On January 5, 2017, Romania issued a national arrest warrant for former MP from the Social-Democratic Party who went missing on December 21, 2016, when he was summoned for interrogation by the National Anticorruption Directorate.

Serbia sends extradition request for Ramush Haradinaj to France

Serbia sent an official extradition request for Ramush Haradinaj to the French authorities. Haradinaj was arrested last Wednesday at Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Airport in eastern France under a war crimes warrant issued by Belgrade. He served as a rebel commander in the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict, which eventually led to Kosovo declaring independence.

EUR 2 billion gap emerges in Romania's budget

The Budget and Finance Committees of Romania's National Assembly are to investigate the budget amendments made by Romania's former cabinet in 2016. The leader of the ruling Social-Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea said that a gap of EUR 2 billion emerged in the 2017 budget and that former Premier Dacian Ciolos and former Finance Minister Anca Dragu had to explain why it happened.

Turkish Lira falls to record low against US dollar

The Turkish Lira fell to a record low against the US dollar against the backdrop of the latest debates in Parliament on constitutional amendments, which would give more power to the country's President, if adopted. The Lira lost 7% of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of 2017. Currently, the US dollar is traded for 3.77 Turkish Lira.

Street in Turkey's capital Ankara hosting Russian Embassy named after Ambassador Andrey Karlov

Thestreet in Turkey's capital Ankarahosting the Russian Embassy was named after Russia's ambassador Andrey Karlov who was killed on December 19, 2016, Haberturk TV announced based on information of Ankara Municipality. Ambassador Karlov was shot dead on December 19 when he was delivering a speech at the official opening of a photo exhibition in Ankara. The gunman was later shot by the Turkish Police.

Written by: Atanas Tsenov

English version: Kostadin Atanasov