News archive of November 2017

Refugees seeking reunification with family members in Germany sit in front of a banner announcing a hunger strike during a protest near the parliament building in Athens, on Wednesday. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said after a visit to Bulgaria late last week that the EU should strongly bind the rule of law with the cohesion funds that the poorest countries in the Union are counting on, reports frognews. 

Privatizations fund TAIPED has started the process for the sale of its holdings in OTE telecom and Athens International Airport (AIA). It is now commissioning financial consultants to be tasked with coming up with a utilization model and assisting the process until transactions are complete.

Japanese electronics giant Sony is marking the year of the dog by bringing back to life its robot canine, packed with artificial intelligence and internet capability.

The United States has a total of 150 nuclear weapons in five NATO member countries, including Turkey, according to a report on worldwide nuclear arms prepared by the Turkish Parliament.

The report, titled “Data on Nuclear Weapons,” said there were around 15,000 nuclear weapons at 107 sites in 14 countries as of July this year, daily Milliyet reported on Oct. 31.

Climbing the Uluru rock formation, a popular tourist attraction in Australia, will be banned in 2019 because of its spiritual significance for a local Aboriginal community, DPA reported.

The ban will come into force on 29 October 2019. On that date in 1985 the land and the rock were returned to their traditional owners.

In Russia, protests are increasing and the quality of government is falling, says Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

Suriname's decision to withdraw its recognition of Kosovo is important, James Ker-Lindsay, a professor at St. Mary's University in Britain, has told b92.net.

Iran condemned the yesterday's bombing in New York, which killed eight people, the France press reported.

"The murder of innocent and vulnerable citizens in public places shows the cruelty and brutality of terrorist groups such as DAESH, who do not respect moral and human principles," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Gamsemi said in a statement.

Black clouds of smoke covered Gorna Oryahovitsa. The reason - a fire at a waste separation site. The tire depot was lit up, bTV correspondent reported.

The signal is filed at 12:30 am. The flames are already extinguished.

The fire-fighting teams and equipment provided by the municipality have already stopped the fire.