🇭🇺❌🇺🇦-Hungary Sanctions Ukrainian Generals Over Forced Mobilization

➡️ Hungary has banned entry for three top Ukrainian military officials, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed.

➡️ They are accused of involvement in forced mobilization and the death of an ethnic Hungarian in Zakarpattia.

➡️ Budapest acted without waiting for Brussels, with Szijjártó calling Ukraine’s actions a “brutal hunt for people.”

—🇦🇱 NEW: Albania has been fined by FIFA again, for the match against Serbia.

FSHF has been hit with a 161,500 Swiss franc fine.

The punishment is due to repeated inappropriate and discriminatory fan behavior:

- Discriminatory chants
- Throwing objects
- Lighting fireworks
- Inappropriate gestures/messages
- Disruptions during national anthems

This is among the largest fines Albania has received.

FSHF has urged fans to follow the rules and avoid actions that harm the team.

🔗 kos_data

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—❗️🇷🇸 BREAKING: "Serbia’s central bank plans to bring all of its roughly $6 billion-worth of gold reserves onto its own soil to ensure the security of the hoard in periods of crisis.

That will make Serbia the first eastern European country not to hold any of its bullion in traditional hubs like Switzerland, the UK and the US." — Bloomberg

🔗 The National Independent via Bloomberg

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🇦🇱🏳️‍🌈🤝🇵🇸 — A pro-Palestine protest was held in Tirana with Greta Thunberg as the special guest.

She was joined by feminists, LGBT activists, and members of the Muslim community.

Thunberg was seen chanting "Freedom for Palestine" in Albanian.

🔗 kos_data (@kos_data)

—🇷🇸/🇽🇰 BREAKING: Serbia is ready to make “very big compromises” in the dispute with Kosovo* and remains committed to fully normalizing relations, Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starović said in an interview with Austria’s APA news agency.

Addressing the issue of aligning with EU sanctions against Russia, Starović stated that Serbia would impose such measures “only when EU membership is within sight.”

🔗 The National Independent

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—🇬🇷 WATCH: Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari picked up a beetle from the court during a tournament and carried it to the fence, but a few seconds later it was squashed by a ball boy.

🔗 Visegrád 24

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🇲🇩🤝🇲🇩 A HotNews journalist talked with a young man from Transnistria asking him about life in the enclave:

Transnistria is pretty much hermetically sealed from Moldova and, through extension, Romania. Very little information about life and the politics of the enclave becomes available for audiences in Moldova and Romania, due to the Transnistria secret services, the MGB, who patrol the enclave's borders and prohibit every foreign journalist from entering the region.

Although this interview is anecdotical, as it presents the opinion of one individual, it remains valuable insight into the region:

🔸 The younger generations born in Transnistria hope for a reunification with Moldova as they see the Transnistrian War and the current separation as something their parents' generation drama

🔸 Living standards in Transnistria are up to 4 times lower than in Moldova, a country who regularly ranks as the poorest in Europe

🔸 The younger generations in Transnistria (15-35 year olds) travel regularly between Tiraspol/other cities in the enclave to Chișinău and elsewhere in Moldova for work and school

🔸 The young view the ”border” between Moldova and Transnistria as an inconvenience which hampers freedom of movement

🔸 A lot of Ukrainians, mostly military aged men, likely escaping the draft, took refuge and were welcomed by the Transnistria authorities who, likely, experienced labour shortages before the war

🔸 Transnistria accutely suffers from brain drain and a rapidly aging population as most young adults move out permanently either to Moldova or get a Romanian passport and go to Romania proper or elsewhere in the European Union. Few people choose Russia as an option

🔸 Transnistrians are afraid of being dragged into the Russo-Ukrainian war by other actors

In other words, Transnistria, all by itself, has no future, because the young people leave in droves for better opportunities abroad, meaning either Moldova or use the lax rules on Romanian citizenship to get a passport and move to the EU.

🔗 https://hotnews.ro/cum-vede-un-tanar-din-transnistria-viitorul-regiunii-unificarea-cu-moldova-unde-salariile-sunt-si-de-4-ori-mai-mari-1782757

—🇹🇷 NEW: The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that the Balkans Peace Platform meeting, led by Türkiye to promote peace and stability in the region, will be held in Istanbul today.

Attendees include the foreign ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, separatist Kosovo*, North Macedonia, and Serbia, with Albania’s deputy foreign minister also participating.

🔗 The National Independent

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—🇷🇸/🇷🇺 UPDATE: Serbia will not join anti-Russian sanctions as long as the current government remains in power, Prime Minister Đuro Macut stated.

🔗 The National Independent

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This is how we handle our morning exercise routine in Bulgaria.

🔗 една българка

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—🇷🇸/🇷🇺 UPDATE: President Vučić said there will be no sanctions against Russia and that Serbia’s principled policy will not change, responding to Minister Starović’s remark that Serbia could impose sanctions a few months before joining the EU.

🔗 The National Independent

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—🇪🇺/🇲🇩 NEW: The European Council approved the inclusion of the Republic of Moldova in the Roam Like at Home zone, starting January 1, 2026.

Moldovan citizens will be able to make calls, send SMS, and use mobile internet in the EU at the same tariffs as in Moldova, with no extra charges.

🔗 EU in the Republic of Moldova

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—🇲🇰 North Macedonia still far from 9% unemployment target

The North Macedonian government announced months ago its goal to reduce unemployment to 9% and hire over 16,000 young people, primarily under the age of 29. While the unemployment rate has dropped to 11.7% in the first quarter of 2025, the target remains unmet. Youth unemployment continues to hover around 25%.

Among the key measures is a plan to offer up to €100,000 to young couples who move to rural villages and work in agriculture for at least a decade. This program is still under public review, with no data available on actual implementation.

🔎 Unemployment is improving, but the real impact of these policies has yet to be clearly reflected in the numbers.

📰 Balkan Spectator Newsroom

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