Stories from and

5 Muslim Countries Where Gays Are Not Prosecuted by the Law

  28 October 2014

The LGBT Muslims blog identified 5 Muslim nations where the legal system does not outlaw homosexuality. The 5 countries are : Mali, Jordan, Indonesia, Turkey and Albania. While the law in these countries does not criminalize gay lifestyles, the LGBT Muslims blog points out that LGBT communities still suffer from...

Albanian Activists Condemn ‘Terrorist’ Murder Verdict in Macedonia

  3 July 2014

Balkan Insight reports that an ethnic Albanian NGO in Macedonia has condemned a recent court verdict convicting six Albanian men for the execution-style murder of five ethnic Macedonians on Christian Orthodox Easter in 2012. The NGO claims that the entire investigation and verdict were politically-motivated and set against the six...

Hello Spring, Goodbye Evil Eye

  18 March 2013

Μάρτης [el], мартеница [bg], мартинка [mk], mărțișor [ru]…however you call it, an ancient tradition [el] with multiple variations that takes place in the Balkans. So, weave your red-and-white threads for protection against the “evil eye” or to welcome Spring!

Tax Holiday for Albanian Youth?

  18 February 2013

THREE YEAR TAX LIFT FOR EMPLOYED YOUTH In a significant boost to youth employment, the government will decide during the coming weeks about the lifting of taxes (social security, health and personal income tax) and expenses of new trainings of those employed in the private sector. We keep our promises! The...

When Uncle Matt Went to Albania

  13 February 2013

Matthew Pointon of Uncle Travelling Matt shares this detailed, six-part account and photos of his travel in Albania in 1996 and 1999: […] The Land of the Eagle is little known even in Europe and that’s a shame since it has some incredible scenery, friendly people and fascinating history. […]

Kosovo: “Cinematic Darkness Knows No Nation”

  11 September 2012

At Kosovo 2.0 blog, Belgrade-based journalist Dušan Komarčević writes – here and here – about his July 2012 trip to Prizren, Kosovo, to attend the DOKUFEST International Documentary and Short Film Festival: […] The cinemas were filled with movie lovers from Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia,...

Albania: Universities – Quantity vs Quality

  1 November 2011

Home of the Albanian Blogger writes about a BalkanInsight.com article, whose author has “counted some 10 public and over 30 private universities [in Albania], which beats the rest of the Balkan countries.” The quality of education at some of these institutions is something to be worried about, too.

Albania: “The Civil Alternative” Website

  13 March 2011

The Albanian Blogger writes about a new website, The Civil Alternative (ALB), which aims at “engaging people in dialogue and raising awareness as well as producing action about major issues affecting the Albanian people and the country as a whole.”

Slovenia: Referendum on the Arbitration Agreement

  11 June 2010

Sleeping With Pengovsky writes – here and here – about this past Sunday's referendum on the Arbitration Agreement between Slovenia and Croatia; posts Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of The Definitive Guide to the Arbitrage Agreement Between Slovenia and Croatia (links to the earlier installments are here); and...

CEE: Facebook Use Stats

RuNet Echo  12 May 2010

Worldwide Facebook statistics – at Facebakers.com: in Central & Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has most users – 2,634,300 people, the country's overall ranking is #29, penetration is 25.8%. It is followed by Poland (#31), which has 2,604,440 users, with 6.77% penetration. Serbia (#41) is CEE's #3: 1,997,540 users, penetration...

The Balkans, Italy: Berlusconi's “Albanian Girls” Comment; Doctored Photo

  20 February 2010

Balkan Travellers re-posts a Balkan Insight piece about the Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi's comment that “his country would accept only pretty Albanian girls as immigrants.” Belgraded writes about the photoshopped photos of Berlusconi and Slobodan Milosevic: “Fours days after the [doctored] photo was published, Milosevic lost the elections by a...

The Balkans: A Travel Roundup

  10 December 2009

“Street and alternative photography of Belgrade” – at Belgrade Raw; “Other people's journeys: Balkan travelogues 2009” – at Balkanology Blog; a map of Belgrade's hostels – at Belgraded; a review of the “best flight options to Sarajevo” – at Bosnia Blog.

Albania: Giving Directions

  6 November 2009

A Nevada Yankee in King Zog's Court writes that “Albanians are so poor at giving directions that it's easier just to take the lost soul directly to his destination than it is to give directions.”