Five years after the US declared him persona non grata, Donald Trump has given Sali Berisha a ‘waiver’. But how much does it really change for the opposition party Berisha leads?

Police suspect two recent murders in Barcelona are tied to Balkan crime groups. The shootings highlight the global repercussions of decade-long rivalries involving Serbian and Montenegrin drug clans.

Krunoslav Fehir was still in his teens when he witnessed the torture and murder of Serb civilians by a Croatian unit he was recruited into by his father in 1991. His decision to testify in 2005 would mark the start of a long and torturous road to the conviction of Osijek warlord Branimir Glavas, and to Fehir’s own vindication.

The NATO peacekeeping mission will reduce troop numbers as a result of improved security conditions in Kosovo’s north - after sending more soldiers in 2023 amid repeated unrest in Serb-majority areas.

The legislation, which includes the setting up of deportation centres located outside the EU, is designed to increase the low removal number of failed asylum seekers from the current 28 per cent.

The Court of Appeals in Belgrade confirmed the verdict clearing Milenko Zivanovic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army's Drina Corps, of war crimes against civilians in 1992 and 1995 in the Srebrenica area.

North Macedonia’s Dojran Lake, a key bird sanctuary, may become part of Natura 2000, the European Union’s network of protected natural areas. If it can hold on that long.

Following a controversial court ruling that replaced the leadership of Turkey’s main opposition party, a power struggle over who runs the party has slowed the opposition’s recent momentum against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Albania’s Special Prosecution has issued 20 arrest warrants and seized over 100 million euros in assets as it maps out alleged drug money flowing into major construction projects across Albania, including a resort promoted by relatives of Donald Trump.

As President Nicusor Dan's second prime ministerial nominee in 40 days takes steps toward forming a government, Romania's political crisis reveals how democratic tools can be weaponised to make governance itself impossible.

Bulgaria’s president condemned the burning of two Bulgarian diplomatic vehicles in Skopje, calling the incident an “attack” on her country and demanding that the authorities in North Macedonia fully clarify the case.

Peter Magyar’s Tisza party campaigned on a promise to take Hungary into the eurozone, but delivering on that promise would entail blood, sweat and tears – and likely an accompanying loss of popularity.

Three elections in 16 months have ended up with the same outcome and the same deadlock. But new elections are not the solution – political compromise is.

Under the EU’s new Pact on Asylum and Migration, Croatia is considering repurposing a once secret Yugoslav-era airbase as a detention and processing centre, to the alarm of rights groups and locals.

Montenegro closed two additional chapters in its European Union accession negotiations as officials reiterated their goal of completing talks by the end of the year and joining the bloc in 2028.

Kosovo Albanian Hysri Selimi, a former Islamic State member, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the Pristina Basic Court for spying for Serbian intelligence.

Five Serbs have been placed in 30-day pre-trial detention by the Pristina Basic Court on war crimes charges for alleged involvement in the January 1999 massacre in Recak/Racak, which left 45 dead and sparked the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

To speed up deportations of migrants whose asylum claims have failed, the EU is set to authorise detention centres beyond its borders. But will they help to resolve the issue?

Tens of thousands of people joined marches for LGBTQ+ rights in the capitals of Greece, Romania and Bulgaria at the weekend – but right-wing traditionalists also held counter-rallies in Bucharest and Sofia.

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

The draft law seeks to bring back journalistic independence, editorial freedom, unhindered access to reliable information and a space for open public discourse.

Those who have waited more than a quarter of a century to find loved ones still missing from the war in Kosovo take little hope from a new joint commission between Serbia and its former southern province.

With food inflation running at over 30 per cent, Turkey’s centuries-old relationship with olive oil is starting to sour.

North Korean hackers are stealing identities to land freelance work with Western companies, and some of the victims are in the Balkans.

Our selection of Premium stories digs deep into a lively week, as Europe limps towards rebooting the enlargement system, votes in Kosovo are counted and Albanians throw off a reputation for apathy.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has warned changes to an air transport regulation in Serbia may force it to quit Belgrade.

State Department says removing Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha's designation, imposed in 2021 over alleged corruption, serves US 'national interest'.

Elsewhere, Slovak president urged to halt controversial ambassador pick for Cyprus; Czech defence minister calls for increase in defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP; and Hungary's government submits omnibus bill designed to unlock frozen EU funds.

For many Bosniak survivors of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bajram) brings back painful memories of executions and burned homes in June 1992.

'Exodus '99', part of BIRN's Reporting House museum – and housed in a freight wagon – includes testimonies from some of the Kosovo Albanians deported in railway wagons by Serbian forces in 1999.