The Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Nataša Stanisavljević, has announced that the number of migrants in the country has decreased by 80% and that it has been decided to temporarily close 7 refugee centres, reports TANJUG. The decision came into effect on 1 August and will remain in force until 30 September. "During this period, we will carry out further analyses in order to adjust the work of the centres in the winter period," Stanisavljevic said. She noted that in the first 7 months of 2024, the number of migrants in the country was 10,423. Currently, 472 refugees are accommodated in the centres, while at the same time in 2023 their number was between 3,500 and 4,000 people. Stanisavljevic noted that most migrants enter Serbia from Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

The government’s ethnic Albanian partners from the Vlen ("It's worth it") aliance, has called for the establishment of two academies of science in North Macedonia - one Macedonian and one Albanian, BGNES reported. The leaders of Vlen pointed out that the plan is for the academy to be financed initially from the budgets of 4 Albanian municipalities, and then to be taken over by the state budget. "The position of the VMRO-DPMNE is clear. We have the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU), which brings together scientists from different ethnic groups, and we must work towards enriching scientific thought, that is the future," said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, commenting on the Albanian initiative. The former president of MANU, Vlado Kambovski, said that there could not be two academies in one state and that "science cannot be ethnicised".

The Turkish parliament has passed a law requiring municipalities to collect all stray dogs from the streets and put them in animal shelters by 2028. Aggressive and terminally ill dogs will be euthanised. The previous norm was for municipalities to sterilise and vaccinate all stray dogs and return them to where they were found. It is estimated that there are around 4 million stray dogs in Turkey, and municipalities have sterilised around 2.5 million animals over the past 20 years. The law states that there are 322 shelters in the country with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, and municipalities will allocate 0.3% of their budgets to the campaign. Thousands of people protested against the law, leading to clashes with police, BTA reported. Animal rights activists fear that some municipalities will prefer to kill the dogs on the pretext that they are sick.

In a surprise move at his Socialist Party congress, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced changes to some of the most important cabinet positions in his government a year before the next general election. The interior, finance and defence ministers were sacked and replaced with political unknowns, Tirana Times reports.  The defence ministry will be headed by Pirro Vengu, who replaces Niko Peleshi. Former Finance Minister Ervin Mete will be replaced by Petrit Malaj, head of the National Agency for Natural Resources. The Interior Ministry will be headed by Ervin Hoxha, head of the National Inspectorate for Territorial Protection. Taulant Balla, who was previously interior minister, will become minister for relations with parliament, Albanian Radio and Television (RTSH) reported. Rama announced that Tirana had submitted documents to host the NATO summit in 2027. He said the country's priorities included the construction of Transport Corridor 8 from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, a sea route from Trieste in Italy via Durres to Kalamata in Greece, a Formula One circuit in Elbasan and an international airport in Vlora.

The pre-feasibility study for the Bucharest-Danube Canal could be completed by the end of the year, according to Romanian national television TVR. Construction began in 1986, but was halted after the 1989 anti-Communist revolution, despite being 70% complete. The 67km canal was originally expected to be completed within 5 years at a cost of 1.44 billion euros. If completed, the project, known as “The Development of the Arges and Dambovita Rivers for Navigation and Other Uses”, would allow maritime transport between the Romanian capital and the Black Sea via the Danube. The facility would also provide Bucharest with direct connections to other capitals such as Belgrade, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. The project includes 6 hydraulic locks - 4 on the Arges and 2 on the Dambovita, each with a hydroelectric power station. The canal will join the Danube at Oltenita, opposite the Bulgarian town of Tutrakan.