Joanna Kakissis

The small Balkan country of Macedonia is in turmoil after it was revealed that the government wiretapped 20,000 people. There have been competing pro and anti-government demonstrations in the capital.

#NPRreads is a feature we're testing out on Twitter and on The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers throughout our newsroom will share pieces that have kept them reading. They'll share tidbits on Twitter using the #NPRreads hashtag, and on occasion we'll share a longer take here ...

The number of migrants and refugees crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece has tripled since last year. The coast guard and police are overwhelmed trying to document and house migrants.

The coast guard crew encounters migrants — and smugglers — almost every night in the Aegean Sea, and the numbers are rising rapidly. Some come from as far away as Afghanistan.

Emad al-Masaadi, a 41-year-old house painter and taxi driver, fled Damascus with his wife and three young boys after their home was bombed in late 2012, just one of the countless hard-luck stories generated by Syria's civil war. They landed in Beirut, but after more than a year without work ...

The village of Distomo is tucked into the foothills of central Greece, near the ancient city of Delphi. Had recent history been kinder to it, the village might have been known for its 10th-century Byzantine monastery or its postcard scenes of grandfathers like Lukas Pergantas, tending their small vineyards.

But ...

Greeks don't trust their own state to give them good services, so for decades they have evaded taxes.

Germany, which has backed most of the bailout loans to Greece, wants Greeks to stick to austerity measures. The new Greek government says austerity has destroyed the economy.

For decades, Muslims in northeastern Greece were cut off from the rest of the country. Mainstream politicians backed by the Greek Orthodox church ignored them.

In order to win an extension on its debt repayment program, the new Greek government has promised to pursue wealthy tax evaders — but so did every previous administration since the debt crisis began.

Below the snow-capped Pindus Mountains, on Lake Orestiada in northwestern Greece, sits Kastoria — a city that largely survived the country's devastating economic depression by exporting its signature good: fur garments.

"When you're born in this city, you have something to do with fur. So in the end, you end ...

Eurozone finance ministers agreed to give Greece a four-month extension of credit today as long as the Greek government sticks to reforms and keeps its finances in check.

The new leftist Greek government says it wants to revolutionize a country that long has resisted change. So far, that hasn't included finally placing women at the highest levels of government.

Once again, Greece and Europe are at an impasse. The new Greek government wants to replace the existing bailout program, but its Eurozone partners have rejected that idea. The negotia...

Melina Kotzaki and Nikos Vlastaris, two 70-year-old retirees living on small pensions, stood side by side outside parliament in Athens last week along with thousands of other Greeks, holding hand-written signs about freedom.

"This is the first time I've seen a rally supporting the government in my life," says Vlastaris, ...

Greece's prime minister is considering a veto on further European Union sanctions on Russia. That could lead the government, which was inaugurated 3 days ago, into a big confrontation with the EU.

Alexis Tsipras has been sworn in as Greece's new prime minister, but there are doubts about whether he can fulfill his campaign promise to increase public spending while ending austerity measures.

Greece's radical left Syriza party is the first anti-austerity party to win elections in Europe, throwing into doubt whether the troubled country stays the course on an international austerity plan.

Years of austerity have worn down Greeks, who will choose a new government Sunday. Greek voters are expected to elect the first anti-austerity party in the Eurozone.

Maria Tsitoura, one of those voters, is a lively grandmother in her 70s. Like many retirees in Greece, she shares her small pension ...