According to “Serbian Economist,” the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has added Bosnia and Herzegovina to the list of jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring—the so-called “gray list.”
At the same time, Iraq was also added to the “gray list.”
According to the FATF, countries on the “gray list” have strategic deficiencies in their systems for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but are committed to addressing these issues within agreed-upon timeframes.
FATF President Elisu de Anda Madrazo stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina must strengthen the protection of its financial system against exploitation by criminals and terrorists, as well as ensure more effective oversight of the banking sector.
This is a significant signal for the region. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains part of the Western Balkan economic space, closely linked to Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, and EU countries through banking, trade, remittances from the diaspora, transportation, construction, and small businesses.
Being placed on the “gray list” does not imply sanctions or a ban on transactions, but it typically leads to stricter compliance requirements on the part of banks and financial institutions. International payments, opening accounts, servicing companies, transfers, and transactions with counterparties from such a jurisdiction may be subject to additional checks.
This is important for Serbia for two reasons. First, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a neighboring market and a key destination for regional trade. Second, Serbian banks, companies, and exporters working with partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina may face more detailed inquiries regarding the origin of funds, ownership structure, beneficial owners, and the purpose of payments.
From a practical standpoint, businesses working with Bosnia and Herzegovina should prepare transaction documents in advance, verify the authenticity of goods and services, and properly draft contracts and payment justifications. This applies particularly to financial services, trade, real estate, logistics, import-export, and companies with complex ownership structures.
For reference: as of June 19, 2026, the current FATF “gray list” includes Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam, the British Virgin Islands, and Yemen.
The FATF blacklist—that is, the list of high-risk jurisdictions for which the FATF calls for enhanced measures or countermeasures—includes North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, COMPLIANCE, FATF, financial monitoring, SERBIA
The National Elections Commission of South Sudan has scheduled the country’s first general election for December 22, 2026.
This was announced by the commission’s chairman, Abednego Akok Katsol, at a press conference in Juba. According to him, the date was announced in accordance with the election law, which requires the polling date to be published at least six months before the election.
The elections are set to be the first national elections in South Sudan since the country declared independence in 2011. Previously, the vote had been postponed repeatedly due to civil war, political crises, the lack of a permanent constitution, security concerns, and incomplete preparations for the electoral infrastructure.
In 2024, the transitional period was extended for another two years, and the elections were postponed from December 2024 to December 2026. South Sudan is governed by a transitional coalition government formed following the 2018 peace agreement and the establishment of a government of national unity in 2020.
Despite the announcement of the date, preparations for the vote remain uncertain. Katsuol stated that the commission is hampered by gaps in legislation, a lack of necessary regulatory instruments, and a funding shortfall.
According to him, the total election budget is estimated at approximately $250 million, while the commission has received about $21 million. If additional funding is not allocated in the coming months, the commission may adjust its preparatory schedule to reflect more realistic timelines.
The disputed region of Abyei, on the border between South Sudan and Sudan, remains a separate issue. The Electoral Commission intends to send a delegation there to assess the feasibility of holding the election.
For South Sudan, the 2026 elections are set to be a key test of the political transition following the civil war. However, their success will depend on three factors: the availability of funds, security on the ground, and the authorities’ ability to complete legal and organizational procedures by December.
Key takeaway: The election date has been announced, but the elections themselves cannot yet be considered guaranteed. South Sudan has formally entered a six-month election cycle, but preparations remain vulnerable due to a lack of funding, unresolved legal issues, and security risks.
South Sudan became an independent state on July 9, 2011, following years of conflict between northern and southern Sudan and a referendum on self-determination. The country’s division was the result of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended one of Africa’s longest-running civil wars and paved the way for a vote on the South’s independence.
However, as early as 2013, South Sudan was plunged into its own civil war. The conflict arose between supporters of President Salva Kiir and forces aligned with former Vice President Riek Machar. The conflict was political, ethnic, and resource-based in nature, and its consequences included the collapse of institutions, mass displacement, economic decline, and chronic instability.
In 2018, the parties signed a revised peace agreement that provided for a ceasefire, the formation of a transitional government of national unity, security sector reform, the drafting of a constitution, and the holding of elections. However, implementation of the agreement proceeded slowly, and many key provisions were never fully implemented.
Today, there are two distinct states—Sudan and South Sudan.
Sudan is the larger country in northeastern Africa, with its capital in Khartoum. It has access to the Red Sea, has historically been linked to the Arab-Muslim north, and lost a significant portion of its oil resources following the secession of the south. In recent years, Sudan itself has been experiencing a severe internal armed conflict and a crisis of central authority.
South Sudan is a landlocked country with its capital in Juba. It is rich in oil but depends on Sudan’s infrastructure for its export. The country remains one of the youngest and most vulnerable in the world: weak institutions, intercommunal conflicts, a lack of roads, a budget dependent on oil, and humanitarian crises continue to hinder its development.
The portfolio of new life insurance policies issued by companies in Ukraine for January–May 2026 exceeded last year’s figures by 3.5% and totaled 556 млн грн, according to the website of the National Association of Insurers of Ukraine (NASU).
“The main feature of the current phase is steady growth in regular premiums. Customers continue to show high demand for financial savings instruments,” the statement notes.
In addition, regular premiums paid by customers under existing long-term policies rose by 13%. At the same time, significant progress has been observed in the single-premium segment, where premiums increased by 18.8%.
NASU also notes that during the reporting period, life insurers’ payouts rose by 31% to 870.5 million UAH. Of this amount, 39% consists of payouts upon policy maturity (payouts for the “survivorship” risk), which is 2 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
“This situation is entirely expected, as insurers are actively settling obligations under traditional policies issued more than 20 years ago. Customers are withdrawing their accumulated capital, along with accrued interest, and quite often reinvesting these funds into new policies,” the report states.
NASU also reports that for the first five months of 2026, the ranking of life insurers by premiums written continues to be led by MetLife Insurance Company with 1.318 billion UAH, followed by TAS Insurance Company with 424.9 million UAH, Grave Ukraine Life Insurance with 245.3 million UAH, PZU Life – 171.9 million UAH, and ARX Life – 150.6 million UAH.
Ranking by claims paid: MetLife – 290.9 million UAH, TAS Insurance Company – 218.5 million UAH, Grave Ukraine Life Insurance – 187.7 million UAH, UNIQA Life – 79.2 million UAH, PZU Life – 33.5 million UAH.
As previously reported, as of June 1, 2026, there were 10 life insurance companies operating in Ukraine.
The biopharmaceutical company “Biopharma” invests about $2 million annually in education; plans for this year include opening biology schools in Uzhhorod and Lviv, company president Kostyantyn Yefimenko told the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
“We invest about $2 million in education every year. We have already built two biology schools in Kyiv and Bila Tserkva. After school, the children come to us for extracurricular classes. Ten hours a week: three hours of math, three hours of chemistry, and four hours of biology. It’s free for the children, but they’re taught by top-notch instructors,” said Yefimenko.
He noted, however, that the goal of this project is not to train a large number of employees specifically for the company.
“We don’t need a very large number of people at Biopharma; our revenue per employee is over one million dollars. We need talented people, but not a large number of them. I’m doing this as a charitable project; I want to build 25 such schools in Ukraine. I want these people to start creating their own companies in the biotech sector. This is impossible to achieve with the current level of school and university education. It requires people with highly specialized training. And I hope that we will be able to train such people; they will come to us so that we can help them or invest in them, and create these companies together with them. My goal is to create the conditions for such an ecosystem,” Yefimenko noted.
He announced that the immediate plans include opening two more biology schools, in Uzhhorod and Lviv, which will begin operations this fall.
“Biofarma” is a Ukrainian biotechnology company engaged in plasma collection and specializing in the production of plasma for the manufacture of blood products.
biology schools, biotechnology, EDUCATION, Yefimenko, БІОФАРМА
During the war, the proportion of women among the unemployed rose to 81%, Stanislav Pavlenko, deputy director of the State Employment Center (SEC), said in comments to the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency on Monday.
“While women accounted for 55% of the unemployed before the start of the full-scale war, today that proportion has risen to 81%,” Pavlenko said.
He also added that a pilot program has been in effect since 2025, allowing Ukrainian women to learn trades in fields traditionally considered male-dominated.
“Under the program’s terms, training is provided in 31 professions. A mandatory condition is that women must be employed upon completion of their training,” Pavlenko said.
Since the beginning of the year, 402 women have been enrolled in such training as part of the project.
At the same time, Pavlenko noted that “in Ukraine, data on the unemployment rate is calculated by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine based on labor force surveys.” However, starting in 2022, the results of these surveys have not been published by the statistics agency.
“According to the latest published data, in 2021 the unemployment rate (based on the methodology of the International Labor Organization) among the population aged 15–70 stood at 9.9% of the labor force,” said the official from the State Employment Service.
Labor market, State Employment Service, UNEMPLOYMENT, vocational training, WOMEN
Ukrainian clinics have signed more than 100 memorandums of understanding as part of the international medical partnership program launched under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska.
According to the Ministry of Health, 26 of these memorandums were signed with medical institutions in France and are being implemented with the support of Expertise France, the French interministerial agency for international cooperation and development.
For example, as part of the partnership, the Chernihiv Regional Children’s Hospital is collaborating with the University Hospital of Lille, and the Chernihiv Regional Psychoneurological Hospital is collaborating with the University Hospital of Nîmes.
The Ministry of Health notes that in June 2024, the governments of Ukraine and France signed an intergovernmental grant agreement totaling 200 million euros, part of which is allocated to the healthcare sector and critical infrastructure: seven agreements in the healthcare sector have been signed, totaling 51 million euros. In addition, in 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified framework agreements between Ukraine and France on cooperation in the reconstruction and modernization of hospitals and in oncology diagnostics.
FRANCE, international partnership, MEDICINE, Ministry of Health
