Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo have begun signing a petition to dismiss Albanian mayors in two of the four Serb-majority cities who were elected in snap polls last year amid a boycott of the vote by local Serbs.
A controversial icon of St. Matrona of Moscow with an image of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin has been removed from the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, following a public outcry and an attempt to deface the work.
Moldovan Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian said on January 17 after meeting with Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of Transdniester, that the newly introduced import and export duties for the separatist region will remain in place.
Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, marking the third anniversary of his incarceration on charges widely believed to be politically motivated, said the model of power created by President Vladimir Putin in Russia "is inviable because it is built on lies."
Hundreds of Romanian haulers and farmers on January 17 continued protests for an eighth day over high taxes and insurance rates, EU environmental policies, and cheaper Ukrainian produce flooding the domestic market.