Romani people

The head of "25 May" a centre for troubled youngsters in Skopje, Macedonia, resigned on Monday "for moral reasons" over a scandal involving the possible sexual abuse of a 13-year-old in the care of his institution.

This case hit the public last Thursday when an international Roma rights organization, the European Roma Rights Centre, ERRC urged the authorities to react.

TIRANA - The Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Roma Integration 2020 Action Team will organise a conference in Tirana on Friday to address the needs and priorities in the Western Balkans and Turkey concerning filling in the budget gaps in Roma integration policies, with a specific focus on employment and housing for Roma.

A Bulgarian court has ordered Deputy Prime Minister and nationalist party leader Valeri Simeonov to refrain from using hate speech following anti-Roma statements he made in parliament in 2014, lawyers from a human rights group said on Wednesday.

Inspired by the life and work of the legendary Romani-French guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt, Djangofest Athens, now in its eighth year, celebrates all things gypsy jazz, with music concerts, film screenings, dance activities, events for children and more. The event at Technopolis is admission-free and starts at 7 p.m.

Romanian coastguards on Sunday intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 87 migrants, including 23 children, in the Black Sea.

The boat was sailing toward the Romanian coast in the third incident of its kind in the past month.

The number of people trying to cross the border from Romania to Hungary has also increased during the past month, officials say.

The number of arrests for illegal migration in Bulgaria in the first half of 2017 was 80 per cent lower than in the first six months of 2016, going by Interior Ministry figures, quoted by the Independent Balkan News Agency. 

Since the beginning of 2017, a total of 1461 people were arrested for illegal migration by June 30. By the end of June 2016, the number had added up to 7134.

Go-go dancers performed during the weekend at an event held in the yard of the Gymnasium high school in Prokuplje, Beta reported on Monday.

At the same time, the yard of an elementary school in this southern town hosted a Roma wedding party.

Greece's Roma reacted on Thursday to an amendment passed through Parliament on Tuesday which foresees the resettlement of thousands of the community's members in 70 new camps without prior consultation.

Local Gypsy swing act Gadjo Dilo has teamed up with folk rock singer Vangelis Germanos for a series of performances and will be playing the Gazarte Roof Stage on Thursday, July 27. The show starts at 10 p.m. and admission costs 8 euros.

Gazarte, 32-34 Voutadon, Gazi,
tel 210.346.0347, www.gazarte.gr

Belgrade-based tourist company CitySoul has cancelled its planned "Gypsy Tour" of the Serbian capital, which was to include driving to Roma neighbourhoods, seeing how people live there and "optional talking to a Gypsy", after the tour was accused of racism.

"Unique in our city - Roma safari! Optionally you can talk to them, for 11,200 dinars [93 euros]" read one Twitter comment.