Ansa news

(ANSA) - TRIESTE, AUG 29 - A meeting was held in Koper, Slovenia, in tribute to Slovenian writer Boris Pahor, who passed away on May 30, 2022, in Trieste, an occasion celebrated with the reprinting of one of his syllogues, "My Trieste Address" (Moj tržaški naslov), a collection of short prose from 1948. A work that marks the beginning of his career as a storyteller and his deep connection with the city of Trieste. The meeting was attended, among others, by Secretary of State to the Prime Minister…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 29 - Ilir Meta, former Albanian President and current leader of the opposition Freedom Party, has been indicted. The Albanian Special Prosecutor's Office (SPAK) has charged him with passive corruption in at least three cases, as well as money laundering and failure to pay taxes. The four other defendants in the same investigation are Meta's ex-wife, Monika Kryemadhi, an outgoing parliamentarian from whom he divorced last year, and his former mother-in-law. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 29 - Paris and Berlin are "determined to defend the sovereignty of the European Union" and will increase air defence supplies to Ukraine "given the massive Russian attacks" on the country in recent weeks, according to a joint statement released today at the end of the Franco-German Council of Ministers meeting in Toulon, southern France. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 29 - Serbia will confidently pursue membership in the European Union while maintaining its opposition to sanctions against Russia, according to President Aleksandar Vucic. "I don't have any masters. I only answer to Serbian citizens and the Serbian people, and no one else, whether in the West or East. Serbia is on the path to European integration, and it will remain so until the end of my term. Serbia will not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, and will remain so…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 29 - According to the Federal Employment Agency (FIA), Germany's unemployment rate rose in August to more than three million. However, the Institute's president, Andrea Nahles, advises caution when evaluating the data, as was expected given the summer break. With 3,025,000 unemployed, this is up 153,000 (+5%) from August 2024 and 46,000 from July 2025. After accounting for calendar and seasonal effects, the figure drops to just 9,000. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 29 - Eighteen IMI (Italian military internees in Germany), almost all from Gandino (Bergamo), will be compensated for their suffering, with the proceeds going to their heirs. According to the Eco di Bergamo, the Court of Brescia accepted lawyer Fabio Franchina's arguments and ordered, in a ruling dated August 25, compensation ranging from 20,000 to 80,000 euros for "pecuniary and non-pecuniary" damages suffered during their captivity. The lawsuit against the German Republic…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 28 - The Central Election Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has called early elections for the presidency of Republika Srpska (RS), BiH's Serb-dominated entity, on November 23. This decision is linked to the recall of current RS President Milorad Dodik by the same electoral commission, following confirmation of his one-year prison sentence and six-year ban from all political activity for repeated disobedience to the International High Representative's decisions in…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 28 - "In response to the latest Ukrainian attack on the Druzhba pipeline, the Hungarian government has decided to ban the commander of the responsible military unit from entering Hungary and the entire Schengen area," Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on X, emphasising that "this was an attack on Hungary's sovereignty, which endangered our energy security and almost forced us to draw on our strategic reserves." "Ukraine," he continued, "is well aware…

(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, AUG 28 - NATO on Thursday said all its members were finally set this year to hit the alliance's previous defence spending target of two percent of GDP -- as they gear up for a far more ambitious goal. The 32-nation military alliance agreed at a June summit in the Hague to massively hike defence spending over the next decade under pressure from US President Donald Trump. The mercurial US leader rammed through a commitment from allies to cough up five percent of their GDPs on security-related…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 27 - Belgrade condemned a growing 'Albanization' campaign in northern Kosovo, and the Pristina leadership promised to do everything possible to reduce or eliminate Serbia's dominant presence in the country's north. The pro-government Belgrade press today slammed Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's latest "provocative" measures, which included the opening of a new bridge over the Ibar River in Kosovska Mitrovica and the renaming of 87 streets in the city's northern (Serbian)…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 27 - Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has strongly condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza and reiterated his call for Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's government to begin parliamentary procedures to recognise Palestine. During a meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian in Zagreb today, Milanovic slammed the "brutal attacks conducted by the Israeli army against civilians in Gaza for months, and especially in recent days," according to regional…

(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, AUG 27 - The German cabinet on Wednesday signed off steps to boost recruitment for the country's armed forces and strengthen military readiness in the face of high tensions between NATO and Russia. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the drive aims to attract volunteers to the Bundeswehr, but the proposal also includes provisions for compulsory service in case numbers fall short in coming years. From January 1 next year, a questionnaire will be sent to all young German men…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 26 - Today is the birth anniversary of writer Boris Pahor, who died in 2022 at the age of 108. Pahor, a Slovenian-language writer and intellectual, was born in Trieste on August 26, 1913. He is regarded as the most important Slovenian writer with Italian citizenship. Having witnessed all of the horrors of the twentieth century, he was one of the most important voices on the tragedy of deportation to Nazi concentration camps, as recounted in Necropolis, as well as discrimination…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 26 - Tomorrow, the German government is expected to approve the military service reform proposed by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's veto, which echoed criticism from his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was lifted in recent hours, according to multiple press outlets. The fundamentals of the reform are expected to be agreed upon: for the time being, the emphasis is on "voluntary service," with no return to compulsory conscription.…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 26 - After more than four months of deadlock and 57 failed elections, Kosovo's new parliament, which was formed on February 9th, elected its speaker today. Dimal Basha, a member of parliament from the ruling Vetevendosje (Self-Determination, Nationalist Left) party, will serve as Speaker of the Assembly after receiving 73 votes. The election required a minimum quorum of 61 votes, which all candidates proposed since April 15th, the day of the new parliament's first constituent…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 26 - Germany does not see the preconditions for recognising a Palestinian state, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated today in Berlin during a press conference with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney. "The Canadian government is aware of our position; we will not participate in this initiative. We believe that the conditions for recognising a Palestinian state are completely lacking. Opinions differ on this issue, and the events of recent days have not changed our position,"…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 25 - The bones of the famous australopithecus Lucy, discovered half a century ago in Ethiopia, will be on display at Prague's National Museum beginning today. The name Lucy is derived from the famous Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which was heard in the field when the first discoveries were made. Visitors will also be able to see the nearly complete skeleton of Selam, a child who lived 150,000 years before Lucy, for sixty days. The National Museum of Ethiopia…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 25 - Slovenia received 1,051,703 tourists in July, a 2.5% increase over July 2024 and the highest number for July to date, according to Slovenian news agency STA. Tourist nights increased by 3.9% to nearly three million, the Statistics Office reported on Monday. Foreign tourist numbers increased year after year, while Slovenian numbers decreased. Slovenia received nearly 3.9 million tourists and 9.9 million tourist nights in the first seven months of the year, representing…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 25 - Nearly 70% of Slovaks support remaining in the EU, while one-fifth oppose it. Opposition voters are more pro-European, whereas supporters of the ruling Smer party are divided on the issue of a potential EU exit. This was reported by the Slovak website Aktuality.sk, citing the Focus agency, which also highlighted the stark differences in attitudes between government and opposition voters. A majority (55%) of voters for the governing coalition (Smer, Hlas (Voice), and the…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 25 - "Today, borders are reappearing in new forms: wars that touch Europe, epochal migrations, technological and energy revolutions that are impacting our lives and our policies," but "Friuli Venezia Giulia confirms its position as a border region and, at the same time, a link between the Adriatic and Central Europe," said Friuli Venezia Giulia Governor and President of the Conference of Regions, Massimiliano Fedriga, at the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini today.…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 25 - "There is no need to tell the Ukrainian president what to do," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in response to his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, who urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to "stop threatening Hungary" over the Druzhba pipeline, according to Ukrainska Pravda. "I'll respond in Hungarian," Sybiga said on X: "There is no reason to tell the Ukrainian president what to do, say, or when. He is President of Ukraine, not Hungary. Your actions…

(ANSA) - PISA, AUG 23 - Contemporary Romanian literature, with guest of honor writer Mircea Cărtărescu, among the most authoritative voices on the European literary scene, and mountains, narrated by writer-mountaineer Enrico Camanni, among the leading Italian interpreters of alpine culture, are the themes of the Pisa Book Festival, a national book fair dedicated to independent Italian publishers, scheduled for Oct. 2-5. Taking part in the event, now in its 23rd edition, will be 90 independent…

(ANSA) - SARAJEVO, AUG 23 - In Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a referendum sought by Bosnian Serb nationalist leader and president of the entity Milorad Dodik will be held on Oct. 25 against decisions deemed hostile to him recently adopted by the Sarajevo court and the Central Election Commission. This was decided late in the evening by the RS parliament at the end of a long session that lasted the entire day. The question that will be put to the Bosnian…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 22 - Trieste Police Chief Lilia Fredella has ordered joint force control services beginning today and continuing through next Sunday and the following weekend to address the excessive traffic caused by the closure of Slovenia's H4 highway. Heavy traffic in recent days—estimated to be 45 percent higher than normal, as Trieste Traffic Police Chief Gianluca Romiti noted during a press conference—has been accompanied by a counter-exodus from Croatian tourist destinations.…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 22 - Slovenian Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar urged Italian counterpart Matteo Piantedosi to adjust border controls and traffic at the Fernetti border crossing near Trieste. The crossing has experienced severe congestion due to the closure of the Slovenian motorway from Razdrto to Nova Gorica, according to Slovenian news agency STA.The Interior Ministry stated on Thursday that the congestion was caused by Italy's border controls, which several countries have reintroduced…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 22 - In Kosovo, there was another setback today in the election of the new parliamentary president following the February 9 elections. Hekuran Murati, the new candidate for the ruling party 'Vetevendosje' (Self-Determination, Nationalist Left), failed to obtain the required quorum of 61 votes. Fifty-seven MPs voted for him, 52 against, and six abstained. A new attempt has been scheduled for August 24. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 22 - The Czech Republic's asylum and immigration rules will be tightened beginning in January 2026. Czech President Petr Pavel has signed legislation amending the monitoring of asylum seekers' and migrants' movements and stays, Czech Radio reports. The new rules also aim to speed up international protection procedures while limiting abuse. The text, which is based on the EU Migration Pact, states that authorities will be able to take a harsher stance against foreigners if…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 22 - "Another attack on our country's energy security, another attempt to drag us into war," declared Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Szijjarto condemned a new Ukrainian attack last night on a pumping station along the Druzhba (Friendship) Pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. According to a report on Reuters' website, Kiev forces claimed responsibility for the raid. "During the night," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook, "we received news that…

(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT AM MAIN, AUG 22 - Germany's economy shrank in the second quarter by even more than had been feared, official data showed Friday, in a further bad sign for Europe's top economy after years of stagnation. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3 percent from the previous quarter, federal statistics agency Destatis said, as it revised down an earlier July estimate of a drop of just 0.1 percent. (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA) - KLAGENFURT, AUG 21 - From tourism to culture, from economy to infrastructure: the axis between Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, the capital of Carinthia, and Friuli Venezia Giulia is strengthening to transform the Alps-Adriatic area into an international tourism and economic brand. It is a collaboration rooted in time - the historic friendship with Gorizia dates back to 1965 - but today it knows new momentum thanks to million-dollar projects involving institutions, operators and citizens on both…