Erdogan announces Turkish-backed forces have taken full control of Afrin centre

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has announced that units of the Free Syrian Army, supported by the Turkish armed forces, have taken full control of the centre of the Syrian town of Afrin. Capturing the town was a principal objective of operation Olive Branch, which Ankara launched on 20 January to clear the region along the Syria-Turkey border of the Kurdish People's Protection Units. More than 2,000 civilians left Afrin after the escalation of the Turkish offensive in recent days.

Ahead of visit to Macedonia, Greece’s foreign minister receives bullet in a letter

Just a few days before his official visit to Macedonia, Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias received a threatening letter with a bullet in it. This week, Kotzias is expected to present, in Skopje, a draft of an agreement on the naming dispute with Macedonia. According to unofficial Greek sources, Minister Kotzias included 5 eventual names in the package, his personal favourites among them being New Macedonia and Upper Macedonia. The Greek side has set down conditions for the finalization of the agreement – that the Macedonian constitution be amended and that a text be included, explicitly renouncing any territorial claims.

Macedonian PM Zaev announces cabinet reshuffle

The Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev announced a reshuffle in his government, adding he expected to increase parliamentary support for the ruling coalition. Negotiations will most probably be held with all opposition political forces, with the exception of the VMRO-DPMNE. The changes in the cabinet will be negotiated with forces and MPs who accept the government programme of participation in the parliamentary majority.

Vucic: If we do nothing, Serbia will disappear

In an extraordinary address to the nation, in connection with the Kosovo issue and the dire demographic situation in Serbia, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic stated that if the Albanians are not willing to compromise, no solution can be reached. The President will make public a draft of a solution to the Kosovo issue next month. The head of state adduced data indicating an alarming drop in the birth rate, and stressed that if this continues, Serbia will disappear as a nation and as a state. This is the reason why the government is taking measures to boost birth rate. Some of them will come into effect on 1 July, the remaining steps – as of the beginning of next year.

Seven criminal structures for forged documents uncovered in Albania

The director of the Albanian police Ardi Veliu announced that after a long international police investigation, seven criminal structures operating in 10 countries have been uncovered, which have been helping Albanians enter the EU on forged passports and ID cards. Each person supplied forged documents paid USD 9,750 to 30,000. Around 1,000 Albanians have entered USA, Canada and Great Britain using documents supplied by these groups. 39 people were arrested during the operation, 2 of whom are Bulgarian nationals.

Compiled by Stoimen Pavlov

English version: Milena Daynova