🇷🇸 - Serbian president Vucic claims that Europe is preparing for a military conflict with Russia.

Will get back to regular posting soon, busy with bureaucracy.

Ajvar, kajmak, jogurt, luk
Na stolu, pravi je gurmanski huk!

🇹🇷 - Video of an octopus attacking a diver in Turkey goes viral.

Cowards, asking for a knife.

If an octopus clings on you, you should NOT yank at it.

Water helps reduce the suction power (a little) it has. Grab it's legs where it's skinny and pull them back. If you can't do it, ask someone else to do it.

Another method is to give the octopus something else. Sleight of hand trick. Slide an object under it and move its attention.

FUCK I LOVE FUCKING CEVAPI

In my apartment building - I'm the youngest tenant. The occupancy is about ~30%, the last couple of weeks we've had multiple apartments broken into. The administration in charge of maintenance of the building is lazy, incompetent and slow. They collect monthly fees from the remaining residents and can't be bothered to fix the lowest hanging fruit such as the entrance doors which do not close; allowing anyone access to the building's units. It's far too much work for them to send someone to clear the front entrance from snow despite the average age in my building being +60.

So, I borrowed a shovel from a nearby store and cleared the snow myself. Next week I'll fix the entrance doors and the week after I'll install security cameras on the first floor.

It's not about "power" - it's about unity. It's not about the size of the action, it's about the action itself.

If we want a better world, we have to manifest it into existence by our actions.

What did you do today?

Serbia has created a new company, Gas Infrastruktura Novi Sad, to take ownership of the country’s gas infrastructure, while Srbijagas will remain the gas supplier. Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović said the move mirrors earlier reforms in the electricity sector and aims to improve regulation, strengthen security for future pipeline construction, and align Serbia’s legal framework with EU standards.

She stressed the decision is unrelated to oil or Russia and supports Serbia’s goal of diversifying gas sources through new interconnections with North Macedonia and Romania, following the existing link with Bulgaria. Despite her words, by November 25, the government must decide what to do with the oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) or face multiple sanctions, not just to NIS but also any company dealing with NIS.

The Srbijagas–Gazprom supply contract expires on 31 December 2025, with uncertainty over renewal amid potential EU restrictions on Russian gas transit. The government is also considering new laws on oil, gas, and reserves and has boosted national fuel stocks substantially in recent years.

Separately, Gazprom, majority owner of Serbian oil company NIS, has agreed—under U.S. sanctions pressure—to sell its stake to a third party.

One thing to note here is that Nov 27th, Ukraine is supposed to give its response to the 28 point plan sought by the US.

In an overly optimistic world, the US sanctions on Russian companies will be lifted if the cease fire occurs and remains intact.

The dispersion of infrastructure to state owned companies and swapping ownership of the refinery which is the most important; stands to benefit Serbia in both the short term and long term.

They can say they've abided by EU regulations, divested from foreign state control of energy production and could potentially play Croatian and Russian energy prices off each other.

If, however Ukraine rejects the plan and there is no cease fire. Sanctions remain and eventually energy prices will increase.

Bulgarian authorities, supported by Europol and law enforcement from seven countries, dismantled a large criminal network trafficking cultural goods across Europe.

The case began after a 2020 raid in Bulgaria uncovered 7,000 Greco-Roman and Thracian antiquities lacking legitimate provenance. These items remain in the Bulgarian National History Museum.

Action Day – 19 Nov 2025:

35 arrests (all in Bulgaria)

131 searches across Bulgaria, Albania, France, Germany, Greece

3,000+ artefacts seized, including gold/silver coins and antiquities worth over €100M, plus artworks, weapons, documents, electronics, €50,000 cash, and investment gold

The main suspect is believed to have financed illegal excavations across Bulgaria and neighboring Balkan states, using local looters and middlemen. Some seized pieces date back to 2000 BC.

An Ipsos 2025 survey shows Croatians among the most dissatisfied citizens in Europe, with only 18 percent expressing satisfaction with how democracy works and 73 percent fearing it will deteriorate further in the next five years.

Unlike northern European respondents, who worry most about misinformation, Croatians overwhelmingly cite corruption as the central threat to their democracy, with 80 percent identifying it as the biggest danger. Just 23 percent feel represented by their national government, and 69 percent believe the system is rigged in favor of the powerful — a portrait of a society where trust in institutions has eroded sharply.

The trial began in Macedonia over the March fire at Kocani’s Club Pulse that killed 63 people and injured hundreds, the deadliest blaze in the country’s history.

Thirty-five individuals, including the club’s owner, and three companies face charges, with prosecutors alleging years of illegal licensing, skipped inspections and official negligence. The fire, sparked by pyrotechnics in an overcrowded venue holding more than twice its listed 250 capacity, caused a fatal stampede as exits became blocked; most victims were aged 16 to 20.

Ahead of proceedings, thousands protested in Skopje demanding accountability from institutions they say failed to prevent the tragedy.

A judge commented the trial could take between 5 months to 5 years.

The EU has cracked open its final negotiation chapters with Albania, inching the bloc ever closer to its ultimate nightmare: actually letting Albania in!

Brussels insists it’s a “geopolitical imperative,” while Albanian PM Edi Rama cheerfully warns "there is no escape from Albania” — a line that surely reassures no one in Europe’s more nervous capitals. Still, with talks expected to wrap up by 2027 and membership by 2030, Albania is sprinting through reforms, loudly reminding the EU that it now qualifies as a “frontrunner.”

Justice reform, judicial independence and anti-corruption efforts remain sticking points, though Tirana’s 90% public enthusiasm suggests Albanians are more than ready to join the club — whether the club is ready or not. As Rama put it, if the EU wants to stop Albania from stalking them forever, there’s only one solution: let them in.

Ironically, if Albania is allowed in the EU - the 13,000 Albanians the UK has remigrated back to Albania since 2022 will be allowed to enter the UK once again.

This is what makes the Balkans great. This and Cevapi

It's mostly the food. Women come at a close second, nature in third (oceans, mountains, rivers, etc) and once a month women drop out of the top 3 rankings altogether.

It's voting day in Bosnia's Republika Sprska. According to Bosnia’s Central Election Commission (CIK), voting will be open on:

Sunday, November 23, 2025

7am (06:00 GMT) to 7pm (18:00 GMT).

Turnout in previous presidential elections has typically ranged between 50 percent and 55 percent.

The elected candidate will serve out Dodik's remaining year.

Party-backed candidates (4):

Sinisa Karan (SNSD) – Main contender; backed by Dodik; former interior minister; part of Dodik’s inner circle.

Branko Blanusa (SDS) – Main opposition contender; SDS Banja Luka City Committee member; professor of electrical engineering.

Nikola Lazarevic – Ecological Party of Republika Srpska.

Dragan Dokanovic – Alliance for New Politics (SNP).

Independent candidates (2):

5. Igor Gasevic – Independent.
6. Slavko Dragicevic – Independent.

Was really hoping he was a Pajeet and a figment of imagination.

#BREAKING | European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, is creating a dedicated unit to integrate intelligence from national spy agencies across the EU, per FT.

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