News archive of August 2017

Cyprus at risk of becoming a desert island

A toxic combination of decreasing rainfall, the abandonment of rural areas and an increase in water consumption over the past few decades has resulted in more than half the island of Cyprus being in immediate danger of desertification. Just 1.5 percent of the land area - the ridge of the Troodos mountain range - is not deemed to be at any such risk.

Sports Digest: Retsos most expensive player out of Greek league

SOCCER: Panayiotis Retsos has become the most expensive player ever to leave the Greek league, as Bayer Leverkusen has forked out a reported 22 million euros to acquire the 19-year-old Olympiakos defender.

Macedonia, Greece, Pledge to Revive 'Name' Talks

At a joint press conference following their meeting in Skopje, the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Macedonia on Thursday said their discussions focused mainly on ways to revive stalled talks on Macedonia's name - which Greece disputes - possibly this autumn.

Afghan migrant "throws woman out window after altercation"

A 37-year-old Afghan male - whose initials are R.H. - has been arrested in the asylum center in Bogovadja, near Lajkovac, in western Serbia.

The suspect has been placed in police custody after he "threw his 22-year-old (female) cousin through the window" of the facility, Serbian media reports said on Thursday.

Serbian Forces ‘Used Croats as Human Shields’

At the retrial of former Serbian security chiefs Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, a witness said he and other Croat civilians were used as human shields during an attack on a village in 1991.

U.S. Accepts Mexico Flood Aid Offer

The US state of Texas has accepted an offer of flood aid from Mexico despite tension over President Donald Trump's proposed border wall and his threats to scrap a free-trade deal.

On Sunday Mexico offered vehicles, boats, supplies and food, reports said.

Mexican Red Cross volunteers have also travelled to the flooded city of Houston.

US bombers fly over Korea in show of might

Two U.S. supersonic bombers and four stealth jets soared over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday in a powerful display of military might after North Korea fired a missile over Japan and renewed a threat to target the waters near Guam.
The aircraft also conducted precision strike drills over the Pilsung range in a mountainous area of South Korea in an unprecedented combined maneuver.

Foreign Direct Investments in Non-Financial Sector in Bulgaria Grew by 1.4% in 2016

According to preliminary data 335 802 non-financial enterprises submitted their annual reports for 2016 at the National Statistical Institute. They generated BGN 137 139 million of production value and BGN 48 566 million of value added at factor cost, and employed 1 966 554 persons.

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