civil society

HAMBURG - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has arrived in Hamburg for a sustainability conference that will address further implementation of shared processes aimed at achieving the UN's sustainability goals.

Vucic was welcomed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The Haitian government has deployed specialist anti-gang police units, it said Friday, after an apparent massacre northwest of Port-au-Prince that the United Nations said left at least 70 dead.

Carried out early Thursday in the town of Pont Sonde, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the capital, the attack saw scores of houses and vehicles torched after gang members opened fire.

Sofia Pride is urging candidates from political parties to endorse their pre-election declaration aimed at safeguarding equality for LGBTIQ+ individuals in Bulgaria. The organizers of the country's largest human rights event are calling for candidates to sign the declaration, which commits them to advocate for the rights and visibility of LGBTIQ+ people in the 51st National Assembly.

Pope Francis said on Sept. 27 that the Catholic Church must "seek forgiveness" over the "scourge" of child sexual abuse, during a visit to Belgium where the Church's dark past looms large.

In a speech before political and civil society leaders that opened his three-day visit to the country, Francis denounced the "tragic instances of child abuse" as a stain on the Church's legacy.

Ahmed Dogan, the honorary chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), expressed deep regret over the actions of a party member, which he implied referred to Delyan Peevski, in a video released on the "DPS Press Center" Facebook page. Dogan stated, "I am ashamed of the actions of this boy. We are all guilty, including me!

Türkiye strongly refuted allegations on Thursday that the Turkish National Agency is misallocating funds received from the European Union.

The allegations, recently circulated in some media outlets, were addressed in a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

In a newly introduced measure to enhance agricultural productivity in Türkiye, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry will lease out agricultural lands that have not been cultivated for two consecutive years.

Giannakopoulou’s Response to Doukas on Attica’s Rescue Plan

PASOK’s internal dynamics, ahead of the October intra-party elections, continue even in August. In response to Haris Doukas’ letter to his fellow candidates regarding the rescue plan for Attica after the fires, Nadia Giannakopoulou, a candidate for the party leadership and an MP, responded.

Bulgaria's upcoming elections have been postponed following President Rumen Radev's refusal to sign the decree for the new caretaker government. This decision means that the elections, initially scheduled for October 20, will be delayed.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has appealed to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of a law regarding the handling of stray dogs.

"We have submitted our 183-page appeal to the high court after meticulous work with all the relevant parties, including civil society," CHP deputy leader Gökhan Günaydın said on Aug. 15 after he submitted the appeal.