News archive of March 2018

The UN is hoping dinner diplomacy can push-start stalled Cyprus reunification talks after Cypriot leaders agreed to meet for dinner to iron-out differences.

A statement was issued by the UN on Friday to confirm President Nicosia Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci will meet on April 16 inside the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia at the defunct airport.

This was her reply to opposition New Party leader Zoran Zivkovic's question about whether the air carrier - Air Serbia's strategic partner - was withdrawing from the country.

Brnabic also described this as "media disinformation."

Mytilineos group chairman Evangelos Mytilineos said on Thursday that his main concerns are developments in the electricity market and the major investment it announced a few days ago regarding the construction of a new natural gas-powered plant.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has described U.S. President Donald Trump's statements on withdrawal from Syria as "purely rhetorical," saying the main objective of a senior Turkish diplomatic delegation's visit to Washington is to understand the U.S.'s "real intensions" in the war-torn country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized certain ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members for "speaking negatively about the economic situation in Turkey."

In an interview with BIRN's TV show Jeta ne Kosove, the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said the authorities were investigating why the head of Serbia's Kosovo office, Marko Djuric, was paraded publicly through the streets in handcuffs after his arrest.

The "Rodna Stryha" product line in its partnership with the Lidl chain marks one year since its launch. Sales of over 15 million leva were realized by Bulgarian manufacturers in Lidl stores in Europe in 2017. Thanks to the partnership with Lidl, more than 20 Bulgarian companies are selling products outside the country.

Turkey's hotels continued to see a significant increase in occupancy rates in February and witnessed a slight year-on-year increase, but their room prices were still at low levels, a sector association has announced.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has said it is providing $48 million to Tiryaki Agro, boosting Turkey's leading agricultural products exporter and supporting its expansion into new markets, day-to-day business and new investments. 

National Defence Minister Mihai Fifor paid a visit to the NATO HUMINT Centre of Excellence in Oradea, aimed at documenting the facilities of the centre. The main topic of discussions with representatives of the institution focused on the current and future challenges regarding the military information, the National Defence Ministry (MApN) mentioned.