Oct 23, 2026, 03:00 AM UTC

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced during a visit to Kraljevo that the government intends to attract two major international investors to the central Serbian city over the next year. According to Vučić, these economic initiatives are expected to generate around 1,000 new jobs for local residents.

Meanwhile, in Belgrade, the Serbian National Assembly adjourned its legislative session on Monday evening following debates on scheduled items. Parliamentary proceedings are scheduled to resume on Tuesday at 10:00 AM, when lawmakers will continue deliberations on the remaining matters on the agenda.

Sources: Tanjug

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced his resignation on September 27, stepping down seven months prior to the completion of his second term. The decision precedes snap parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25 and necessitates an early presidential vote within 90 days. Under Serbia's constitution, Vučić is barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

Former Speaker of Parliament Ana Brnabić has taken over as interim president to manage state affairs throughout the political transition. The Serbian national legislature had previously been dissolved, placing the country under a caretaker government as it prepares for both national elections.

Sources: Adevărul, Digi24, HotNews, TV8, Ziarul de Gardă

Former French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal has secured the necessary endorsements to join the upcoming left-wing primary, competing alongside six other declared candidates. Royal stated she had "kept many friendships within the PS" ahead of the contest organized by the Socialist Party and Place Publique, scheduled across two rounds in October.

Socialist Party First Secretary Olivier Faure has also formally entered the primary field. Meanwhile, Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel opted out of the joint process to pursue an independent bid for the 2027 presidential election. Royal's qualification has drawn scrutiny over candidate dynamics following early criticism directed at political rivals despite previous pledges to avoid internal disputes.

Sources: La Tribune, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Libération.

Romania's Ministry of Environment will launch the Casa Verde Baterii program in October, allocating up to 500 million lei to support residential energy storage installation. Moving away from the previous first-come, first-served model, the updated framework evaluates applicants based on their self-financing contributions and total installed capacity to improve grid integration.

While coverage highlights success stories of households lowering energy costs through state-funded solar systems, prosumer associations criticize the new scoring framework. Critics contend that the criteria exclude homeowners who already possess storage units and penalize smaller applicants. Additionally, beneficiaries report lingering bureaucratic delays and contractor pricing significantly above standard market rates.

Sources: Adevărul, Economedia, HotNews, Moldova1, Ziarul de Gardă.

Turkish civil society groups and independent media outlets have published August monitoring data on gender-based violence, alongside news of legal developments in a Siirt homicide case.

The We Will Stop Femicide Platform documented 22 femicides and 33 suspicious deaths of women in August, noting that over half of the fatal incidents occurred inside the victims' homes. Meanwhile, independent news portal Bianet reported that male violence resulted in at least 25 women killed and 71 injured during the same period, based on its review of national and regional press reports.

In judicial developments, prosecutors in Siirt completed an investigation into the 2024 disappearance of a mother of four. Digital evidence, license plate tracking, and cellular location data established that she was killed. The Siirt 1st High Criminal Court accepted an indictment against five suspects, including her former husband and relatives.

Sources: Bianet, Cumhuriyet, TRT Haber