>The earthquake on April 23, 2025, in the Marmara Sea region, Western Turkiye, with a magnitude of 6.2, was the strongest in the region in the last ten years, the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences announced on its official Facebook page Thursday. More than 120 aftershocks were registered after the main quake, which had its epicentre in the western part of the North Anatolian Fault and was also felt in Bulgaria, the Institute adds.

>Among them were several posts by the former judge and civic activist Cristi Danilet. His Facebook messages, which expressed voting preferences and criticised various candidates, were classified by the BEC as “political advertising” and Danilet was labelled a “political actor”, leading to the posts’ deletion.

>Danilet has challenged the decision, insisting he has no ties to any party or candidate. “I have no connection to anyone, neither candidates nor political parties. I have openly criticised all candidates regardless of affiliation. The authorities are misinterpreting and misapplying the law,” he said in a Facebook post, adding that such measures discourage civic engagement and public debate.

>In its defence, BEC stated that the measure is not intended to silence voices but to create a fair and regulated campaign environment. “The same rules that apply to television and print media must now apply to digital platforms,” a spokesperson said early this week.

>A former DJ, producer and party promoter, Einhorn had spent the previous three years working for Netanyahu’s Likud party via his public relations firm Perception, helping to secure the party a string of electoral victories.

>This particular document, however, originally concerned Serbia and its president, Aleksandar Vucic.

>Goal 1: “Significantly improve the image of President Vucic and Serbia among the current US administration, the Democratic Party, the media, and the liberal world in the United States and Europe”, its authors wrote; the key message should be: “President Vucic has turned Serbia into a global crossroads of peace and prosperity between Russia, China, the EU, the US, and the Gulf states”.

>In its original form, the document provided intriguing insight into the spin employed to bolster Vucic’s reputation at a time when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was putting his East-West balancing act under unprecedented strain.

They declare that the occupied territories of Ukraine are still not as contaminated by oil, but monitoring continues.

>In the arid north-east, the towns monopolise the running water while the villagers dig ever-deeper wells, in a race to the bottom that portends Europe’s hotter, drier future

> "The (Rostransnadzor) commissions have established that the main causes of accidents are non—compliance by ship captains and shipowners with restrictions on the season of navigation of vessels in the sea areas of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait," the Ministry of Transport reports.

But in a dysfunctional state like Russia laws are impossible to abide for everyone. It's just that they are enforced only when those in power have interest to do so. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_Soviet_Union

>One of the placards carried by the Belgrade protesters on Monday said: "Solidarity – freedom – rule of law." The march started from the central Students Square, and upon reaching the Constitutional Court, the people held 16 minutes of silence, their phone flashlights turned on, to commemorate the 16 victims of the Novi Sad tragedy.

>From one perspective, the timing of his arrest was curious: Stripping İmamoğlu of his university credentials would have been sufficient to exclude him from running and, anyway, the presidential election isn’t due until 2028 — although there’s been chatter it could come sooner. > >So, why move against him now and launch the arrests of 106 others, including officials from İmamoğlu’s CHP? > >Some argue Erdoğan didn’t want to wait and allow the Istanbul mayor’s candidacy the opportunity to gain more steam. But Gönül Tol, author of “Erdoğan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle at Home and in Syria,” suspects the explanation lies in what’s happening beyond Turkey’s borders: The Turkish leader likely felt emboldened by the unfolding geopolitical shift toward autocracy, and so felt this was an auspicious moment to strike.

>It also caused a shockwave in the financial market, triggering temporary halts in trading on Wednesday to prevent panic selling.

>German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concern over the mayor’s detention, saying it was a “very, very bad sign” for Turkey’s relations with the European Union.

>Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. Erdogan’s party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities. > >The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.

>The Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoglu, and several other senior members of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) were detained early this morning. The arrests come just days before the opposition party was expected to officially nominate İmamoglu as its presidential candidate. The CHP will hold primaries on Sunday, March 23, to elect its presidential nominee, and İmamoglu was widely considered the most likely choice. He had unofficially announced his candidacy earlier this month.

>In recent months, however, there has been media speculations that in 2027 the president may schedule early election, possibly in March 2028, to secure a chance to be re-elected without requiring a constitutional change. > >Earlier this year, the spokesperson of the ruling AKP, Omer Celik, said that the possibility of President Erdogan running again is "on the agenda for discussion" and that a possible "formula" for this will be considered, according to Turkish media. > >Under the Turkish constitution, Erdogan cannot run in the 2028 presidential elections. However, the law allows an exception for a president in their second and final term if Parliament calls early elections. > >In the local elections of March 31 last year, Erdogan's ruling AKP lost the national elections for the first time since coming to power in 2002, with the CHP emerging victorious. AKP also suffered defeats in many of the country’s largest cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.

>The Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoglu, and several other senior members of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) were detained early this morning. The arrests come just days before the opposition party was expected to officially nominate İmamoglu as its presidential candidate. The CHP will hold primaries on Sunday, March 23, to elect its presidential nominee, and İmamoglu was widely considered the most likely choice. He had unofficially announced his candidacy earlier this month.

>Protesters chanted, "Mayor Resul is not alone!", "Mayor Ekrem is not alone!" and "Detentions, arrests, and repression will not scare us!", BirGün reports. > >Emma Sinclair-Webb, the Turkiye Director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the detention of İmamoglu and other senior CHP officials, calling it a blatant abuse of the judicial system, Reuters reported. > >Words of support for Imamoglu came from the French Foreign Ministry, whose spokesman said that the arrest could have grave consequences for Turkish democracy. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin called it "a step backwards" for Turkiye. The Council of Europe condemned the arrests as a move against the will of the people. The mayors of Athens and Thessaloniki also voiced support for the Istanbul mayor in social media posts. > >In the wake of the Wednesday arrests, the Turkish lira crashed by 12% to an all-time low of 42 to the dollar. > >Access to several social media platforms, including X, TikTok, and Instagram, was partially restricted in Turkey this morning. > >Imamoglu's arrest came a day after Istanbul University announced annulling İmamoglu’s diploma in line with a move by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office questioning the legitimacy of his higher education credentials.

>The Iasi office of DNA is now led by prosecutor Cristina Chiriac. Chiriac gained notoriety following revelations from a national investigative outlet, SaFieLumina.ro, about sexual abuse committed by the bishop of Husi. Journalists showed that Chiriac, then a prosecutor, had kept incriminating video evidence of the bishop’s abuse locked away in her desk drawer for years, instead investigating the victim for blackmail.

>Last week, the ruling majority adopted the Law on the Protection of the Constitutional Order of Republika Srpska. Under this legislation, the authorities get more power to collect data and investigate alleged attempts to undermine them or threaten the Serb-dominated entity’s security. > >The legislation also criminalises “disrespect or non-execution of decisions of institutions or bodies of Republika Srpska”, as well as “other criminal acts that indirectly or directly threaten the constitutional order and territorial integrity of Republika Srpska”. It envisages the establishment of a new Special Prosecution and a Court of Republika Srpska

>The leaders of the two Romanian far-right parties, Alliance for the Union of Romanians and the Youth Party, George Simion and Anamaria Gavrila, will run for the presidential elections in May. They announced the news in a video published on their official Facebook profiles after meeting with former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu Tuesday morning. If both bids are validated, one of them will withdraw, as stated in the video.

Something many other countries in the region should also do.

>In addition to their political aspirations, the suspects recruited supporters through online platforms, publishing videos aimed at both national and international audiences. The group's efforts were not limited to online propaganda, as they took steps to negotiate Romania's exit from NATO and discussed their plans with foreign political and military representatives. > >The authorities conducted searches at eight locations in Bucharest and several counties, seizing important evidence. Four of the accused are set to face preventive detention, while the other two will remain under house arrest. These arrests come just after Romania expelled the Russian Federation's military attaché and his deputy, accusing them of engaging in activities contrary to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It is unclear whether these expulsions are connected to the arrests.

>The new proposal announced by Zelenskiy comes two days after French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that he was negotiating with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to offer a partial ceasefire similar to the one detailed by the Ukrainian leader, although only for one month. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added that the intention of “a truce in the sky, at sea and in the energy infrastructure is to test whether Vladimir Putin has good intentions to seal a truce.”

At a moment when Hungary is isolated due to it blocking of all support for Ukraine, Macedonia sends a very clear message by seeking support from them exactly.

>In the last three months, the pace of the Russian army's offensive in Ukraine has been falling. In February 2025, the Russian army managed to occupy 192 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. This is 4 times less than in the peak period in autumn 2024. > >The OSINT project DeepState, which monitors the situation on the front line, has drawn attention to the occupiers' loss of momentum. > >According to OSINTers, the current pace of the Russian army has already equalled that of July 2024. At the same time, the Russians are taking very heavy casualties as they try to advance.

>Authorities say a broader investigation into election-related crimes uncovered links to an alleged illegal weapons network. > >Among the 21 individuals now facing arrest is former French Foreign Legion soldier Horatiu Potra, who served under contract in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. > >"About the weapons, I will admit to illegal possession, but first I want to say that... rather than die legally, it is better to live illegally," Potra said, as quoted by Reuters.