FRANKFURT, Aug 19 (Reuters) - German prosecutors said ​on Wednesday a second Ukrainian suspect they allege was involved in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts has been arrested ‌in Croatia and will be extradited to Germany.

The first suspect in the case, former Ukrainian army officer Serhii K., was charged by prosecutors in July with orchestrating the blasts while acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.

At least one person has died and around 40 others have been injured after a severe wildfire tore through cities on Croatia's coastline on Thursday night and Friday morning.

The blaze broke out near the village of Lokva Rogoznica on Thursday evening, and spread quickly towards the nearby tourist town of Omiš, 6km (7 miles) away.

Around 1,200 residents and tourists were evacuated, while 10 people were in intensive care in hospital, the prime minister said. Croatia's fire chief Slavko Tucaković described it as "one of the worst" blazes in the country's history.

At least one person has died and around 40 others have been injured after a severe wildfire tore through cities on Croatia's coastline on Thursday night and Friday morning.

The blaze broke out near the village of Lokva Rogoznica on Thursday evening, and spread quickly towards the nearby tourist town of Omiš, 6km (7 miles) away.

Around 1,200 residents and tourists were evacuated, while 10 people were in intensive care in hospital, the prime minister said. Croatia's fire chief Slavko Tucaković described it as "one of the worst" blazes in the country's history.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were found near a pipeline that transports Russian gas to Hungary.

The discovery in a border area of neighbouring Serbia comes as Orban's party is badly trailing in opinion polls ahead of crucial elections next Sunday.

Opposition leader Peter Magyar accused him of "panic-mongering" orchestrated by "Russian advisers", days after security experts warned of a possible "false flag" operation that could be blamed on Ukraine.

Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has resisted EU calls to abandon Russian energy imports since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Governments in five EU member states are “consistently and intentionally” eroding the rule of law, Europe’s leading civil liberties group has warned, while democratic standards are deteriorating in six more, including historically strong democracies.

Drawing on evidence from more than 40 NGOs in 22 countries, the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) described the governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia as “dismantlers” that were actively weakening the rule of law.

Seen in front of the entrance to Devín Castle.

I will also put this beautiful picture of Slovak flag flying on top of the castle:

Meanwhile, Poland's defence chief Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the army would examine 120 kilometres of the Warsaw-Lublin-Hrubieszów line, which links the capital to Ukraine by rail and road.

A railway line linking Warsaw to southeastern Poland was damaged by a weekend explosion that Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an "unprecedented act of sabotage".

Tusk, who visited the site on Monday, said the line is "crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine."

"Unfortunately, the worst fears have been confirmed," the Polish leader said in a statement Monday.

"An act of sabotage has occurred on the Warsaw-Lublin route. An explosion has destroyed the railway track."

The public prosecutor's office in Milan has opened an investigation into claims that Italian citizens travelled to Bosnia-Herzegovina on "sniper safaris" during the war in the early 1990s.

Italians and others are alleged to have paid large sums to shoot at civilians in the besieged city of Sarajevo.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico warned that his country will oppose using Russian frozen assets to fund Ukraine's defense spending, speaking with Slovakian public broadcaster STVR on Saturday.

“Slovakia won’t take part in any legal or financial schemes to seize frozen assets if those funds would be spent on military costs in Ukraine,” Fico said, Bloomberg reported, citing the interview with STVR.

About 50 young men disrupted a Serbian cultural event in Split on Monday evening, demanding that participants and guests leave.

Witnesses said the group, masked and dressed in black, approached the Blatina District Council building and told people to exit. Police said there was no physical violence, although offensive language can be heard in recordings. Organizers and participants complied. The event featured a folklore dance performance by a group from Novi Sad and was part of Serbian Culture Week.

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s parliament on Friday voted to reintroduce compulsory military service in the European Union and NATO member country.

The move comes amid heightened tensions in Europe following the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as an apparent arms race and military buildup in the Balkans, which went through a bloody war in the 1990s.

Ambassador Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa's body was discovered outside a Paris hotel. The circumstances of his death are under investigation.

South Africa's ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa, was found dead outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in the west of Paris on Tuesday, according to the local prosecutor's office.

Mthethwa was 58-years-old and had been serving as ambassador to France since his appointment in December 2023.