It’s a Man’s World
Judging by the media landscape, ordinary women barely exist in Serbia – in an election year like 2020 or any other time.
Around the Bloc
Friday, 21 August
Regional headlines: Navalny remains in Omsk hospital; dangerous chemicals in Romania; money laundering in Ukraine; and coronavirus in Abkhazia and Croatia.
Thursday, 20 August
Regional headlines: Navalny in coma; criminal probe into Belarusian opposition; Czechia seeks coronavirus vaccine; a pink lake in Kazakhstan; and inmate labor in Serbia.
Wednesday, 19 August
Regional headlines: political deal in North Macedonia; resignations in Poland; a controversial road in Kosovo; loans for Uzbek workers; opposition in Azerbaijan.
Tuesday, 18 August
Regional headlines: Lukashenka stands his ground; Bulgarian bitcoin mining; a Russian-Dutch spying scandal; Warsaw defends anti-LGBT trend; Lithuania bans Hezbollah.
Monday, 17 August
Today’s regional headlines: Belarus standoff continues; Poland, U.S. ink troops pact; Germany closes door on Balkan workers; Belarus sends mercenaries home to Russia; Central Asian pandemic update.
Commentary
The Wrong Way to Interpret Belarus
As events in Minsk and across the country are proving, not all politics is geopolitics.
Words on the Rule of Law
On the surface, the EU budget summit smoothed over the friction between Brussels and the bloc’s problem children. Deeper down, the rift may be growing.
Protests in Pandemic Times
Would these public eruptions have happened anyway? Maybe, maybe not.
Homegrown Mendacity
Russia and China get much of the attention, but locally produced disinformation shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated.
Latest News
COVID-19 Aid: Turkey’s New Political Battleground
While opposition parties say the government has cracked down on local attempts to distribute aid, the president talks about preventing a “state within a state.”
Art Bazaar: A Lifeline for Artists
Central Asia creatives are combating the effects of COVID-19 with an online marketplace.
Bulgarian Protests: Battles Over Corruption?
The anti-corruption fight that erupted again this month could end up stuck between two conflicting concepts of what is at stake. From openDemocracy.
Czechia, More Resilient Than Ever
With the establishment of a new parliamentary committee to combat hybrid threats, the Czech Republic confirms its status as one of Europe’s leaders in the field.
Russian Cyberthreat Extends to Coronavirus Vaccine Research
A Russian cyberespionage group that hacked into election networks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election is now attempting to steal coronavirus vaccine information from researchers in the U.S., UK and Canada. From The Conversation.
Going Local
Prague, one of the world’s most popular destinations, has launched a marketing campaign to attract domestic visitors to the city after COVID-19 ravaged the tourism industry.