Joanna Kakissis

Richard Grenell, a Trump administration diplomat, had an unorthodox approach to resolving a dispute in the Balkans, which helped to topple a friendly government in the middle of a pandemic.

The government says it will end its pandemic state of emergency on June 20. Rights advocates say this still won't rein in Prime Minister Viktor Orban's considerable powers.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic faced a wall of screens and launched into a campaign speech as people on the screens applauded and whooped. The virtual rally drew comparisons to Black Mirror.

Instead of leaving super fans without glitter, glam and hard-rock hallelujah, the annual event now in it's 64th year, will air a live two-hour special available for viewing in more than 40 countries.

The lawmakers demanded Thursday that European Union leaders punish Hungary's government for using the COVID-19 pandemic to grab power via a new law allowing the prime minister to rule by decree.

An annual survey by the watchdog Freedom House says authoritarian leaders and the influence of China and Russia are undermining democratic progress achieved since the end of the Cold War.

A deadly pathogen is killing olive trees in Italy, Greece and Spain, three countries responsible for 95% of Europe's olive oil.

Greece has had surprising success so far in containing the spread of the coronavirus, which struck just as the country was pulling out of a decade-long financial crisis.

The tree killer is a bacterium called xylella fastidiosa. It has killed millions of olive trees in Italy and is now threatening Spain and Greece. These countries produce 95% of Europe's olive oil.

At least 150 people in a shelter have tested positive for COVID-19, says the International Organization for Migration. Most are from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It's a time when churches are full, blood-red eggs are cracked to symbolize Christ's resurrection and lambs are roasted as part of family feasts. But the coronavirus has shut down those celebrations.

Many in Europe's largest ethnic minority group live in poor, marginalized communities where conditions could lead to a swift outbreak, say researchers and activists.

Greece is looking at enormous losses in a main industry due to COVID-19. Authorities have launched a website for virtual visits "until we can all be together in person again," a tourism official says.

The leaders of Hungary, Israel and the Philippines have exploited the coronavirus crisis to consolidate their hold on power and weaken institutions that could curb them.

At least 20 refugees in a camp outside Athens have tested positive for COVID-19. Some 60,000 refugees live in camps in Greece, some crammed into tight quarters with little access to water or soap.

Reporters Without Borders says the government has forbidden state-controlled media from using the word and ordered its removal from health brochures distributed at hospitals, schools and workplaces.

Hungary's nationalist government has granted sweeping emergency powers that Prime Minister Viktor Orban says are necessary to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Critics say he's simply grabbing power.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is pushing through a law that will sideline parliament indefinitely and jail anyone he deems to be spreading false information about the coronavirus.

The Dutch market is a global blossom powerhouse but sales are withering as virus-hit countries hunker down.

"This trial, too, shall pass," Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said. "But our lives will have changed forever." He asked parishioners to stay home for their own safety and the safety of others.