Transitions

On paper, the Sovereignty Protection Office was set up to defend Hungarian national interests. In practice, it attacked activists and journalists who stood up for a more decent and just Hungary. From Telex. On 30 June, the Hungarian Parliament officially dissolved the most harmful state institution in recent Hungarian history.

While Beijing has long called for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine, its diplomatic efforts to bring peace have yielded no tangible results. That may be by design. As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds into its fifth summer amid signs that Russian forces are losing ground, global leaders are renewing calls for China to broker an end to the hostilities.

Armenia is at a crossroads, one familiar to anyone who remembers Georgia’s difficult break from Russia’s orbit two decades ago. From OC Media. The first symbolic shipment of Armenian apricots has already arrived in the EU, marking a milestone in Yerevan’s push to diversify its exports and deepen economic ties with Europe – a small but telling sign of the same trajectory Georgia once charted away from Moscow’s orbit. The 2004 Rose Revolution turned Georgia towards the West, but at a hefty price.

Czech public media have held a unique position as independent and highly trusted media for decades. Now proposed funding changes are placing them under threat. It was a mid-May afternoon, and Prague’s Old Town Square was teeming with people. But this time, most of those gathered were not tourists. Instead, most of the several thousands filling the square were carrying drums, pots, wooden spoons, whistles, megaphones, and signs.

Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni talks to Transitions about his recent investigation, which has prompted the courts to take action. The rumors and allegations swirling around cases of so-called sniper tourists during the Bosnian War may finally have some clarity soon – more than three decades after the end of the conflict.

A shortage of skilled workers in Slovenia has prompted some businesses to recruit help from abroad. But the arrival of foreign workers presents challenges for locals and newcomers alike. Lenart in the Slovenske Gorice region is a small town in northeastern Slovenia where people know each other by name, and where morning traffic doesn’t just mean minor delays, but brief greetings exchanged along the main road toward Gornja Radgona or Maribor.

North Macedonia’s Dojran Lake, a key bird sanctuary, may become part of Natura 2000, the European Union’s network of protected natural areas. If it can hold on that long. From BIRN. A flock of cormorants, at least five-strong, was perched on an abandoned fishing hut. There was a heron too, several gulls and, in the distance, seven white dots floating on the surface of Lake Dojran – pelicans.

The local pub, once the heart of every Czech village, is now fighting for survival. From Respekt. The unpretentious charm of an old country tavern envelops visitors to the U Hada pub in Horni Habartice, a small village in north Bohemia, within the first half-second. In the soft twilight, the classic stainless-steel tap glimmers faintly, and well-worn guitars hang on the walls. They’ve seen a thing or two, just like the entire shabby interior.

In the Kartvelian language, freedom literally means “being one’s own god” – the right to self-determination, for which Georgians constantly have to fight with each successive empire. From Dwutygodnik / Eurozine. One’s mother tongue is the greatest comfort blanket, an intimacy like no other, in which we feel most at ease and secure alongside others who speak and think in our unique and shared code. Language is also a structure in which the systems devised to organize a given reality are reflected.

Every day, Georgians fill Tbilisi’s main street, demanding an end to the government’s increasingly brutal clampdown on dissent. As the June heat settles over Tbilisi, most people spend their Saturday evenings looking for ways to enjoy the weekend. But many of those out this evening head toward the Tbilisi Concert Hall. To an outsider, they might be gathering to attend a symphony concert. Locals know better. At 7 p.m., the Saturday protest march begins.