The Halkalı–Kapıkule railway project covers approximately 231 kilometres between the Istanbul area and the Bulgarian border. It is divided into two main sections: Halkalı–Çerkezköy and Çerkezköy–Kapıkule. Construction of the latter, which is 153 kilometres long, is co-financed by the European Union and Turkey.

According to official project information, the line is designed as a double-track railway for passenger and freight services, with a design speed of up to 200 km/h. These technical specifications apply to the project as a whole and should not automatically be taken as a guaranteed operating speed for every train along the entire route.

He also challenged the human-rights argument behind the demand, saying politicians should not be responsible for determining whether a community's rights have been violated. He pointed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and the Council of Europe as the institutions responsible for assessing such issues.

They are all welcome to the fediverse.

Everyone knows of pixelfed, but have you tried Vernissage?

This focus page brings together BIRN’s key reporting on the trial, including expert analysis and reportage as well as reports from the courtroom, giving an insight into the proceedings and the issues behind them – which continue to have an impact, more than a quarter-century after the war.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday he would set October 25 as the date for a snap vote, as he looks to tighten ‌his grip on Serbian politics after nearly two years of student-led protests and be elected prime minister.

Is it Serbian politicians or society that has chosen the confrontation of the past over the unification of the future?

“The glorification surrounding [Mladić’s] death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built,” said Kos. “That path requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation and respecting the victims of war crimes. The values that underpin our common future are not negotiable.”

Mladić was arrested in Serbia in 2011 after 16 years as a fugitive, and sentenced by a UN tribunal in the Netherlands to life imprisonment in 2017.

The founder of the Suleymancilar community is Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan, who was born in the Bulgarian town of Silistra (on the Danube) in 1888. The name of the community means “followers of Suleyman Efendi.” It has been known since 1951.

The current leader, Alihan Kuriş, is the maternal grandson of Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan, according to the website Mediascope. He succeeded his uncle, Arif Ahmet Denizolgun, who was an independent member of Parliament and Minister of Transport in the Mesut Yilmaz government, which was formed following the events of February 28, 1997 (the so-called “postmodern coup”) against Islamist communities and sects. Denizolgun died on September 8, 2016, reportedly as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. Even then, however, suspicions regarding his death were circulating in the public sphere.

Analysts claim that members of the community’s current leadership have been lobbying to involve prominent figures from the AKP in financial and inheritance disputes.

Among them is İdris Naim Sahin, one of the founders of the AKP and a former interior minister, whose name surfaced during the investigation. There are also allegations of a possible connection between the Suleymancilar community and Fethullah G

Italian and Bulgarian officials both sought to play down any Russian involvement in the incidents.

Now Ankara is attempting to impose new faits accomplis, once again disregarding every concept and interpretation, even expansive, of the Law of the Sea, since marine parks, when unilaterally defined by a state, cannot exceed the extent of the territorial waters. In the case of the two designated areas, Turkey exceeds its territorial waters, which means that, under the Law of the Sea, it should come to an arrangement with the neighboring state with which it shares international waters, to jointly agree on marine protected areas.

The Turkish president’s decree transforms international waters into a marine protected area, with Turkey being able to exercise special powers that entail conditions for the exercise of freedoms of the high seas, and in practice cuts off the sea between Limnos and Samothraki, while access to Kastellorizo by sea could even require compliance with conditions set by Turkey. Essentially, Ankara is attempting to alienate Kastellorizo from the rest of Greece. In the case of the Northeast Aegean, although international navigation is not affected, as the marine park leaves the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait open, it nevertheless imposes restrictions on communication between Greek islands and more specifically Limnos and Samothraki, even closing the Gulf of Saros.

A key part of the strategy has been expanding the country's modern highway network and redesigning roads to meet higher safety standards. Greek drivers acknowledge that tougher enforcement has also played a role.

Ο πόλεμος στη Μέση Ανατολή, η εκτίναξη του κόστους μετακίνησης και η αβεβαιότητα που πλέον αποτελεί σχεδόν κανονικότητα για κάθε τουριστική περίοδο επαναφέρουν στην Ευρώπη έναν τρόπο διακοπών που συνδυάζει χαμηλότερο κόστος, αυτονομία και επαφή με τη φύση: το camping και τα ρυμουλκούμενα ή αυτοκινούμενα τροχόσπιτα. Την ώρα που σε πολλές ευρωπαϊκές χώρες ο κατασκηνωτικός τουρισμός αντιμετωπίζεται πλέον ως στρατηγικός κλάδος ανάπτυξης, η Ελλάδα εξακολουθεί να τον προσεγγίζει με αμηχανία, θεσμικά κενά και συχνά τιμωρητική διάθεση.

ZADAR, Croatia, 17 August 2026 – Four people have been arrested in connection with a series of fires deliberately started at 10 locations across Zadar and the wider Zadar County area.

“Police officers from the Zadar Police Department conducted a criminal investigation into three Croatian citizens aged 46, 45 and 42 and a 33-year-old Polish citizen on suspicion of starting fires at ten locations in Zadar County,” the statement said.

Former party chairman Ozgur Ozel announced on Friday that he and 90 lawmakers had resigned from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to establish the New Party.

Meanwhile, 90 other MPs also resigned from the CHP, making the New Party Turkey’s new main opposition party. The CHP lost its main opposition role after 23 years, retaining only 44 MPs.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, has the largest number of seats in parliament, with 277.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic rejected opposition criticism comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he did not understand why opponents used Putin’s name instead of comparing him to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

The remark came after opposition politician Borko Stefanovic described Vucic as a “Putin from Temu,” a reference to the online marketplace known for inexpensive products. Vucic, who remains the de facto leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, responded by questioning the comparison.

“Why do they say Putin and not Rumen Radev?” Vucic said.

Drone footage showed vehicles attempting to cross the Palaiopyrgos Bridge, which has remained out of service since the storm caused widespread destruction across the region.

The bridge once linked coastal communities in the municipalities of Tempi and Agia, but its collapse has disrupted local travel.

It was never about corruption or the rule of law or liberty or the EU or whatever. The ruling Progressives used the same rhetoric before they returned to power in 2012 – anti-corruption demagogy and pledges to “preserve Kosovo”.

Students did get support for their platform about Kosovo, namely from representatives of Kosovo Serb associations and from none other than Vojislav Šešelj, Vučić’s former party boss, who was convicted for crimes against humanity before the ICTY.

Look, we all knew what was going on ever since the protests started. When a bunch of folks waved nationalist paraphernalia and blasted the music of “Belgrade Syndicate”, we understood that these were, in fact, far-right protestors who disliked Vučić for being too Western for their taste.

Those foreigners who did know about the student protesters being just another wave of demagogic nationalism, like Timothy Snyder, Rachel Maddow, and Florian Bieber, for example, supported them to fit their own narratives and content creation.

The Cankaya Mayor said in a post on his social media profile that he is currently out of town but will be in Ankara in a few hours, according to CNN Turk. “I have informed all relevant authorities of this. I also provided a spare key to the teams who came to search my home, and I asked all my colleagues to cooperate with the security forces. I want all our neighbors to know that since we took office, we have managed this institution in the best possible way and that we have never done anything that would disappoint anyone who has placed their trust in us,” CNN Turk quoted the Mayor as saying.

Cankaya is the central and most prestigious district of the Turkish capital, home to government agencies and foreign embassies. With a population reaching 2 million people, including daily visitors, Cankaya is Ankara’s largest municipality and the country's third biggest after Esenyurt in Istanbul and Sahinbey in Gaziantep Province. It has been governed by Mayor Huseyin Can Guner of CHP since the local elections in 2024. In 2025, Cankaya was declared the most developed municipality by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology.

The government’s decision to allot 4.2 million euros to fund the concert – after initially insisting the event would be self-financing – has angered many who have been involved in the protests sparked by the coastal development linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Ancient Greeks were in owe of Thracian gold. Today Australian mining companies have most literally turned art into industry.

The EU Commissioner said that the two countries have fulfilled what all Member States have asked of them. Kos gave an example of the implementation rate of reforms under the Growth Plan for Ukraine and Moldova, which was 87% and 93% respectively. Meanwhile, not a single country in the Western Balkans has reached 50%. Among other things, Ukraine has made specific commitments regarding the Bulgarian and Hungarian minorities, demonstrating that even the most difficult reforms can be implemented, Kos commented.

"We have now a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make enlargement happen. This comes with clear choices. Those who deliver on their commitments advance. We see this most clearly in Montenegro and Albania. Those who do not deliver on their commitments, stall. At moments of acceleration, stalling means de facto regression," said the Commissioner.

When asked about the accession process guarantees, requested by the government of North Macedonia, Kos replied that there had never been a case where an EU candidate country received guarantees that no other dispute would arise during the accession process until the last member state ratifies the accession treaty. She added that it was important to accept the reality of how the EU enlargement process works.