Balkan developments

Skopje marks the 116th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s birth

“Days of Saint Mother Teresa” are being held in Skopje to mark the 116th anniversary of her birth and the 10th anniversary of her canonization, North Macedonia’s public broadcaster MRT reported. The events began on August 26 with the laying of flowers at a memorial plaque marking the site of the saint’s childhood home in central Skopje and will continue until September 5, the date of her death.

Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu) was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, to a family of Albanian origin. At the age of 18, she left home and joined the Sisters of Loreto, later moving to India. From 1948 onward, she devoted her life to working among the poorest people of Calcutta. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, an order that operates in many countries around the world, providing support to people who are rejected, abandoned, and marginalized.

In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work helping people in need. She died in Calcutta on September 5, 1997. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 2003, and Pope Francis canonized her on September 4, 2016.

Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić dies in prison

Former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, General Ratko Mladić, died in prison in The Hague, where he had spent the last 15 years of his life, BNR-Horizont reported, citing Reuters. Several hours earlier, the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Graciela Gatti Santana, had rejected his defense team’s request for early release on humanitarian grounds.

On August 18, Mladić’s defense team requested the release of the 84-year-old and his transfer to a hospital or palliative-care facility in Serbia, citing the likelihood of his death and the need for him to spend more time with his family.

Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2021, the Appeals Chamber upheld his sentence, finding him guilty of the genocide of approximately 8,000 Bosniaks in Srebrenica in July 1995, the terrorization of civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, and the taking of UN personnel hostage. Mladić was arrested in Serbia in 2011 and has remained in custody under the supervision of the International Tribunal in The Hague ever since.

Drone base to be established on the island of Rhodes

Greece’s Ministry of Defence announced the launch of a procedure to establish a UAV base in the area of a military airfield on the island of Rhodes. This will be Greece’s second such base, following the one on the island of Skyros, BNR correspondent Katya Peeva reported. Until now, drones on Rhodes have been operated from temporary sites, making their use more difficult.

Greece already has a network of companies that design and manufacture their own unmanned aircraft. At the same time, Greece purchases drones from the United States and Israel because domestically produced systems cannot fully meet the needs of the Greek Armed Forces.

This summer, at special military exercises, Greek manufacturers presented the technologies they are developing, including drones, counter-drone systems, and other types of UAVs. A facility for producing drones using Greek technology is currently under construction near Athens.

Drone fragment containing explosives destroyed on a beach in Romania

A drone fragment containing explosives was discovered on the morning of August 26 near sun loungers on the beach of the Romanian Black Sea resort of Olimp, approximately 38 km south of Constanța. Several people alerted authorities, who immediately cordoned off the area and restricted access for tourists, digi24.ro reported.

Specialists determined that the device contained explosives. It was moved to a hole that had been prepared in the sand and destroyed in a controlled explosion. A warning was sent to local residents and tourists via the RO-Alert system, observatornews.ro reported.

Romanian media reported that a second drone fragment was also discovered, but it posed no threat. The authorities have not provided information about the origin of the device.

Average net salary in Croatia reaches €1,555 in June

The average monthly net salary in Croatia rose by 7.7% year-on-year in June 2026, reaching €1,555. In real terms, after accounting for inflation, the increase was 3.1%, the Croatian news agency HINA reported, as cited by BTA. The highest average net salary - €2,330 - was recorded in air transport, while the lowest - €988 -  was in the clothing industry.

The median net salary in June was €1,345, representing a 9.1% increase compared with June 2025.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova