News archive of January 2018

A new initiative by the nonprofit organization GIVMED aims to ensure that unused medicines that usually end up in the trash go to people who need them. 

By visiting the site givmed.org, people can donate medicines to one of 120 charities or health institutions of their choice ranging from pharmacies to retirement homes. Collection points are located across Athens. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to step up efforts to form “observation posts” in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency quoted presidential sources as saying on Jan. 31. 

65% of teachers in Bulgaria were victims of violence. This was announced by the Chief of the Syndication of Bulgarian Teachers Yanka Takeva at the opening of a discussion on young pedagogues, which took place at the 119th Sofia School "Mihail Arnaudov" in Sofia.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has offered a 32 million euro loan to Peyman, a Turkish producer of dried fruit, nuts, seeds and popcorn, for a new plant in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir. 

President Donald Trump appealed Jan. 30 for national unity and strong borders in his first State of the Union address, calling for “one American family” after a year marred by acrimony, division and scandal.

An Israeli legal rights group said on Jan. 31 it is suing the two New Zealanders for allegedly convincing the pop singer Lorde to cancel her performance in Israel in what appears to be the first lawsuit filed under a contentious Israeli anti-boycott law.

The Australian government on Jan. 31 launched an urgent investigation into the loss of thousands of classified documents that were sold with two second-hand filing cabinets.

The digital currency market is extending its losses, with all the major cryptocurrencies on a broad sell-off. Bitcoin is headed for its worst monthly slide since December 2013.

The Taliban control 70% of Afghanistan, according to a study released by the BBC.

Locals recounted grizzly details of a US-led coalition attack that reportedly killed at least 8 Iraqis Saturday, calling on American forces to leave the country. The Coalition said the incident is under investigation.