News archive of January 2018

The US-based World Justice Project (WJP) has released its 2017-2018 WJP Rule of Law Index.

It measured rule of law adherence in 113 countries worldwide based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys, the organization announced.

Turkey’s hoteliers witnessed a large increase in hotel occupancy rates in 2017, becoming the fastest in Europe, but also suffered big revenue loss due to low hotel room prices, a fresh report has shown. 

Kosovo First Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli has announced that Guinea Bissau "again confirmed" that it has recognized Kosovo.

Pacolli told Pristina-based KTV that he received a note about the confirmation of recognition, and presented it to the viewers and to the host of the show, the Beta agency is reporting.

Ramush Haradinaj has made it to the Time magazine's list of the five most wanted "geopolitical fugitives" of 2018.

The US outlet put Haradinaj in the company of Carles Puigdemont, Fethullah Gulen, Julian Assange, and Mikheil Saakashvili.

People in Bosnia and Herzegovina have started topping up the fuel tanks of their vehicles ahead of the announced price rise that will come into effect on Thursday, when a new excise tax law takes force.

Earlier this month, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov refused to sign this bill, that would make Albanian the country's second official language, into law, and sent it back to parliament.

Xhaferi, who is from the DUI party representing ethnic Albanians, said Macedonia's coalition government was "determined to pass this law."

Cameras shot another impudent theft in a grocery store in Sofia. On Monday afternoon in a shop in "Hipodruma" district, a young man puts in his jacket expensive cheeses and butters at a total value of BGN 80, then goes out and runs away from the street.

Members of the People's Self-Defense Force (YPG), which according to Ankara are linked to the forbidden Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), have attacked a Turkish military convoy in the northern Syrian town of Idlib, daily Sabah reports.

Fishermen in Turkey’s Aegean resort town of Bodrum are anxious over a rapid rise in the population of a poisonous toadfish species, which have reportedly killed two cats. 

More than 41,000 people have signed a petition demanding the inclusion of women in the Police Special Operations Department (PÖH).