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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Cybercriminals are abusing browser push-notification features through a new command-and-control platform called Matrix Push C2, discovered by BlackFrog. The system tricks users into enabling notifications on malicious or compromised sites, giving attackers a direct channel to victims’ devices. They then send fake system alerts that redirect users to phishing pages or malware downloads.

Because the attack leverages browser notifications, it’s largely fileless and works across all major operating systems. Matrix Push C2 provides attackers with a real-time dashboard showing victim details, analytics tools, URL shorteners to disguise malicious links, and templates mimicking brands like MetaMask, Netflix, and PayPal to enhance social-engineering success. BlackFrog recommends using anti–data exfiltration (ADX) tools to help block outbound traffic and mitigate the threat.

The recorded voter turnout in the Early Elections as of 3:00 p.m. (two hours ago) is 26% (with a statistical error margin of +/- 1.02% at a 0.95 percent accuracy interval).

24 forms of election violations have been reported so far. 3 of them voter intimidation reports.

The demographic age of voters is largely boomers. Watched the local news and everyone interviewed was missing teeth due to old age.

The highest turnout was in Donja Dragotinja - 36.7 percent, while the lowest was at one polling station in Hambarine - 1.24 percent, where seven people voted.

Donja Dragotinja has a population of 537 and Hambarine about 1,200.