Guy De Launey
@guydelauney.bsky.social
Balkans Correspondent 📹 BBC News, 🖋️ Monocle
Presenter 🎙 Monocle Radio
Moderator ⚖ at large
Presenter 🎙 Monocle Radio
Moderator ⚖ at large
Proof that Donald Trump doesn't even need to be present to draw a crowd: people in Belgrade have been protesting against his family's plans to build a Trump International Hotel (among other things) on the site of a notorious 1999 NATO airstrike. My story for Monocle: monocle.com/affairs/urba...
Trump’s towers don’t tend to last. Is Belgrade taking a backwards step? - Monocle
Thousands of Belgraders marched down Kneza Miloša street last week, banging drums and blowing horns with Donald Trump’s name ringing...
monocle.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Proof that Donald Trump doesn't even need to be present to draw a crowd: people in Belgrade have been protesting against his family's plans to build a Trump International Hotel (among other things) on the site of a notorious 1999 NATO airstrike. My story for Monocle: monocle.com/affairs/urba...
The Club Pulse fire in Kočani was one of the most difficult stories I've ever covered. A town of 25k people; 63 dead and hundreds injured. Scores still receiving treatment today. The trial of more than 30 people is now underway. My BBC piece with @paulkirby.bsky.social. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Dozens go on trial over deadly North Macedonia nightclub fire
Thirty-five people and three institutions are on trial. Prosecutors say years of failings turned the venue into a death trap.
www.bbc.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The Club Pulse fire in Kočani was one of the most difficult stories I've ever covered. A town of 25k people; 63 dead and hundreds injured. Scores still receiving treatment today. The trial of more than 30 people is now underway. My BBC piece with @paulkirby.bsky.social. www.bbc.com/news/article...
A Zagreb landmark is on fire. Vjesnik Tower opened in 1972 as a proud symbol of Yugoslavia's modernity. It has been mostly empty for some time. Zagreb's mayor says "the destruction is total". www.index.hr/vijesti/clan...
Vjesnik gori satima. "Sjurili smo se na vrh. Onda smo shvatili da gori ispod nas"
PROCJENJUJE se da će gašenje potrajati cijeli dan.
www.index.hr
November 18, 2025 at 8:39 AM
A Zagreb landmark is on fire. Vjesnik Tower opened in 1972 as a proud symbol of Yugoslavia's modernity. It has been mostly empty for some time. Zagreb's mayor says "the destruction is total". www.index.hr/vijesti/clan...
I came to Lô Borges pretty late, through O Trem Azul. I shall be listening to Clube da Esquina today. It will kot be a chore. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Lô Borges obituary
Singer-songwriter revered in Brazil for founding the Clube da Esquina collective and releasing two landmark albums of the 1970s
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I came to Lô Borges pretty late, through O Trem Azul. I shall be listening to Clube da Esquina today. It will kot be a chore. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Cash only at NIS and Gazprom service stations when I was in Serbia last week. The government is trying to sort out a solution before the country's refineries run out of fuel. But Russia is not exactly falling over itself to help.
#BBCNews - Serbia's energy reliance on Russia comes unstuck facing US oil sanctions
www.bbc.com/news/article...
By @guydelauney.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article...
By @guydelauney.bsky.social
Serbia's energy reliance on Russia comes unstuck facing US oil sanctions
President Vucic has traded barbs with the Kremlin amid differences over gas supplies and Serbia's arms trade.
www.bbc.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Cash only at NIS and Gazprom service stations when I was in Serbia last week. The government is trying to sort out a solution before the country's refineries run out of fuel. But Russia is not exactly falling over itself to help.
Another reflection on the Novi Sad commemoration, brought up to date with this week's events in Belgrade, where Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the victims of the railway station disaster, is on hunger strike. For DW's Inside Europe programme. www.dw.com/en/one-young...
One Young World Summit and the EU's Enlargement Report – DW – 11/06/2025
Youth leaders meet in Munich for the One Young World Summit, the EU resleases its annual Enlargement Report, and Serbia marks a year since the Novi Sad Railway Station disaster. Also: Italy's controv...
www.dw.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Another reflection on the Novi Sad commemoration, brought up to date with this week's events in Belgrade, where Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the victims of the railway station disaster, is on hunger strike. For DW's Inside Europe programme. www.dw.com/en/one-young...
Setting an example for Serbia to follow with NIS?
Bulgaria plans to nationalize and then sell the Russian-owned Lukoil Neftochim Burgas refinery, the largest in the Balkans, supplying nearly 80% of the country’s fuel. The move comes amid fears of fuel shortages due to new US sanctions.
November 6, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Setting an example for Serbia to follow with NIS?
I'll take that risk.
Shareholders are set to vote on the stark choice presented by the board: pay Musk up to $878 billion in company stock or take the risk he will leave — potentially driving down the company's stock reut.rs/4ov332g
November 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I'll take that risk.
My Bluesky followers have finally ticked over to the 5.9k mark. This took many months, in comparison to the first 5.8k, who came very quickly. Of course I would like to have more followers and engagement. Any thoughts on why the slowdown, and what I could do about it? And is it me, or Bluesky?
November 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
My Bluesky followers have finally ticked over to the 5.9k mark. This took many months, in comparison to the first 5.8k, who came very quickly. Of course I would like to have more followers and engagement. Any thoughts on why the slowdown, and what I could do about it? And is it me, or Bluesky?
My piece for the world's oldest Sunday newspaper on the lastest in Serbia, with yesterday's commemoration of the railway station disaster in Novi Sad.
Tens of thousands of people travel to Novi Sad to rally against the corruption they hold responsible for the station building that collapsed this time last year, killing 16 people, writes @guydelauney.bsky.social.
https://bit.ly/4qBVGYg
https://bit.ly/4qBVGYg
Serbians demand an end to government corruption one year ...
Tens of thousands of people travel to Novi Sad to rally against the corruption they hold responsible for the station building that collapsed this time la...
bit.ly
November 2, 2025 at 12:25 PM
My piece for the world's oldest Sunday newspaper on the lastest in Serbia, with yesterday's commemoration of the railway station disaster in Novi Sad.
The long tail of Reagan/Thatcher deregulation mania is whipping ever harder. The problem is that political leaders are either in thrall to tech plutocrats or actually financially dependent on them. Or still swallowing the 1990s line that regulating web platforms would be repressive.
Again, this precise use case is why these systems exist-to proliferate people’s racist (transphobic, misogynistic…) imaginary at scale. This should not be seen as a “misuse” but rather the product being used exactly as intended.
Racist Influencers Using OpenAI's Sora to Make it Look Like Poor People Are Selling Food Stamps for Cash
Folks looking for evidence of SNAP recipients as welfare queens have no shortage of AI generated schlock to use as justification.
futurism.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The long tail of Reagan/Thatcher deregulation mania is whipping ever harder. The problem is that political leaders are either in thrall to tech plutocrats or actually financially dependent on them. Or still swallowing the 1990s line that regulating web platforms would be repressive.
Here's my BBC story from yesterday's commemoration at Novi Sad railway station.
#BBCNews - Anger lingers in Serbia a year after train station tragedy
www.bbc.com/news/article...
By @guydelauney.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article...
By @guydelauney.bsky.social
Anger lingers in Serbia a year after train station tragedy
Tens of thousands mourned 16 people who died in a rail station canopy collapse in Novi Sad last year, sparking ongoing protests.
www.bbc.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Here's my BBC story from yesterday's commemoration at Novi Sad railway station.
At Novi Sad railway station, ahead of the commemoration for the 16 people who died in last year's canopy collapse in Serbia's second city. With camera crew Bata.
November 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
At Novi Sad railway station, ahead of the commemoration for the 16 people who died in last year's canopy collapse in Serbia's second city. With camera crew Bata.
The EU has been leading the Western Balkans up the garden path for decades. Ursula von der Leyen's express tour round the region last week - and yesterday's Berlin Process Summit in London - have done nothing to change that. Read more in my piece for the Monocle Minute: monocle.com/affairs/poli...
The idea of EU membership for the Western Balkans has run aground - Monocle
Examining recent and current events, you would be forgiven for thinking that the EU was pursuing expansion in the Western...
monocle.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:01 AM
The EU has been leading the Western Balkans up the garden path for decades. Ursula von der Leyen's express tour round the region last week - and yesterday's Berlin Process Summit in London - have done nothing to change that. Read more in my piece for the Monocle Minute: monocle.com/affairs/poli...
Boing, boom tschak! Looks like the new, expanded lineup is heading on tour. @notpodium.bsky.social should approve.
October 20, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Boing, boom tschak! Looks like the new, expanded lineup is heading on tour. @notpodium.bsky.social should approve.
It turns out that you *can* have a blue passport if you're in the EU... Not a new thing - Crotia joined in 2013. But worth reiterating that Cameron could have engaged in some similar optics in 2016 which might have seemed trivial, but could have helped. total-croatia-news.com/news/croatia...
Croatian Passport More Powerful Than USA, Equal With British - Total Croatia
The Croatian passport is now more powerful than the US passport, which has dropped off the top 10 list completely for the first time ever.
total-croatia-news.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:59 AM
It turns out that you *can* have a blue passport if you're in the EU... Not a new thing - Crotia joined in 2013. But worth reiterating that Cameron could have engaged in some similar optics in 2016 which might have seemed trivial, but could have helped. total-croatia-news.com/news/croatia...
Here's the first published fruit of my mountain climb with/trailing in the wake of Tadej Pogačar. My debut in The Observer, no less. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Me vs Tadej Pogačar: how I fared against the world’s grea...
Racing against the Tour de France champion on his home mountain was never going to be easy
observer.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Here's the first published fruit of my mountain climb with/trailing in the wake of Tadej Pogačar. My debut in The Observer, no less. observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Turns out there's a few seconds of Tadej Pogačar cruising past me on this video of yesterday's Pogi Challenge. At about the 39 minute mark. You'll see me on the right, in the blue jersey with black sleeves, white helmet. 365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/kolesa...
S Klanca v klanc, prenos dirke s Tadejem Pogačarjem
Na Pogačarjevi dobrodelni dirki ni bilo prostora za vse kolesarske navdušence. Nastopilo je 1189 kolesarjev, kolikor je višinske razlike med Pogačarjevim domačim Klancem pri Komendi in ciljem na tako ...
365.rtvslo.si
October 13, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Turns out there's a few seconds of Tadej Pogačar cruising past me on this video of yesterday's Pogi Challenge. At about the 39 minute mark. You'll see me on the right, in the blue jersey with black sleeves, white helmet. 365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/kolesa...
Wish me luck - I'm about to take on Tadej Pogačar up one of Slovenia's toughest climbs. It will be an unequal contest.
October 12, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Wish me luck - I'm about to take on Tadej Pogačar up one of Slovenia's toughest climbs. It will be an unequal contest.
Heartening news. But is a bicycle humble? Efficient, relaxing, fun, thrilling, practical and one of the greatest inventions of all time, yes. Some people may misguidedly look down on bicycles and their riders, but that doesn't make the mode nor those who deploy it shrinking violets.
A disruptive transport technology is rapidly changing cities across the rich world: the humble bicycle. There are three factors behind this two-wheeled renaissance econ.st/48WxlpC
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
October 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Heartening news. But is a bicycle humble? Efficient, relaxing, fun, thrilling, practical and one of the greatest inventions of all time, yes. Some people may misguidedly look down on bicycles and their riders, but that doesn't make the mode nor those who deploy it shrinking violets.
The mountain was living in my head. So I just had to climb it. The leg test ahead of Sunday's Pogi Challenge proved positive. The world's greatest male cyclist will be chasing me and hundreds of other hopefuls up Slovenia's toughest climb, Krvavec. Stand by for stories, if I survive.
October 9, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The mountain was living in my head. So I just had to climb it. The leg test ahead of Sunday's Pogi Challenge proved positive. The world's greatest male cyclist will be chasing me and hundreds of other hopefuls up Slovenia's toughest climb, Krvavec. Stand by for stories, if I survive.
Elite cycling stays close to its roots. My tale of Tadej Pogačar's return to his home village on this week's From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio 4 and World Service. From 23'10" - it's the the "and finally" item. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Israel's ultimatum for Gaza City
Around a million Palestinians have been told to leave Gaza City ahead of a new offensive
www.bbc.co.uk
September 14, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Elite cycling stays close to its roots. My tale of Tadej Pogačar's return to his home village on this week's From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio 4 and World Service. From 23'10" - it's the the "and finally" item. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
There are certain media outlets I will not work for, even for decent pay. Continuing to create content for Twitter/X, for no pay whatsoever, became untenable with the change of ownership and resulting changes to the platform. Jim's points are spot on.
Absolutely !!!insane!!! to me that the UK government, lobby and newspapers litigate at length every minor infraction by the BBC, rival newspapers, or what some random columnist has posted. But all of them just carry on not even commenting about this media owner. He’s not hiding, he’s telling you!
The owner of and absolute unquestionable algorithm controller of a preferred communications channel of the UK Government calling for violence and the overthrow of the Government. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
September 13, 2025 at 9:50 PM
There are certain media outlets I will not work for, even for decent pay. Continuing to create content for Twitter/X, for no pay whatsoever, became untenable with the change of ownership and resulting changes to the platform. Jim's points are spot on.
My take on Albania's "AI minister". That's a minister who's an AI, rather than a minister for AI. @andihoxhaj.bsky.social reckons there may be some substance behind the PR. Edi Rama also explains himself. www.bbc.com/news/article...
World's first AI minister will eliminate corruption, says Albania's PM - BBC News
Named Diella, the new minister will help Albania "leapfrog" bigger, more advanced countries, says Edi Rama.
www.bbc.com
September 12, 2025 at 8:27 PM
My take on Albania's "AI minister". That's a minister who's an AI, rather than a minister for AI. @andihoxhaj.bsky.social reckons there may be some substance behind the PR. Edi Rama also explains himself. www.bbc.com/news/article...
"Serbia is on the brink of civil war," said Crotia's PM Andrej Plenkovic at today's Bled Strategic Forum. Is that correct? Well, thousands of high school students and their supporters are on Belgrade (and other cities') streets tonight. But peaceful protests, not combat. n1info.rs/vesti/najnov...
(BLOG)
U Novom Sadu obeležava se 10 meseci od pada nadstrešnice na Železničkoj stanici kada je poginulo 16 ljudi.
n1info.rs
September 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
"Serbia is on the brink of civil war," said Crotia's PM Andrej Plenkovic at today's Bled Strategic Forum. Is that correct? Well, thousands of high school students and their supporters are on Belgrade (and other cities') streets tonight. But peaceful protests, not combat. n1info.rs/vesti/najnov...