News archive of May 2018

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt visited the Hellenic Air Force's 110 Combat Wing air base in Larissa, central Greece Thursday and met with US personnel ahead of the temporary deployment there of American MQ-9 drones.

A general view of the Prinkipo (Buyukada) Greek Orthodox Orphanage in Istanbul, Thursday. The orphanage is the largest wooden building in Europe and the second largest in the world. Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage organization, and the European Investment Bank Institute included the orphanage among 12 cultural heritage sites.

In an email sent to the European External Actions Service on May 25, Avni Arifi, who has led Kosovo's delegation in EU-led talks with Serbia since January, said Pristina will not take any further part in normalisation talks until Serbia implements six pending agreements in full.

Alpha Bank turned profitable in January-to-March as strong trading gains offset higher provisions for loan impairments and weaker net interest income, Greece's fourth-largest bank by assets said on Thursday.

Prince Charles visited this Thursday the seat of his namesake foundation in the Transylvanian village of Viscri, accommodated in a house dating back to 1700. Here he met with farmers and artisanal food producers with whom he conversed about ingredients, recipes and marketing methods, as well as the problems they face.

National Bank (NBG) turned profitable in January-to-March helped by lower provisions for bad loans, Greece's second-largest lender by assets said on Thursday.

NBG, 40 percent owned by the country's bank rescue fund HFSF, reported a net profit from continued operations of 20 million euros versus a net loss of 60 million euros in the fourth quarter.

Public Power Corporation (PPC) on Thursday invited investors to submit expressions of interest for the sale of coal-fired units by June 21.

Greece and its lenders have agreed that PPC will divest about 40 percent of its coal-fired capacity to help to open up the sector after a European Union court ruled that PPC abused its dominance in the coal market.

[Reuters]

Greece's Federation of Prison Employees has condemned what it said was another instance of violence against colleagues at the Diavata penitentiary near Thessaloniki.

In a statement Thursday, the federation said a guard and an officer were violently beaten by a foreign inmate on Sunday evening during cell-closing time and were rushed to hospital.

New drop of unemployment in Bulgaria. In April it is 5.1% - the lowest level since 2008, according to Eurostat data.

Compared to March, the decrease is by 0.1% and on an annual basis compared to April 2017 - by 1.2%.

The unemployed in Bulgaria during the last fourth months was a total of 177 000 people, or 34 000 less than in April 2017 and 3000 less on a monthly basis.

Dimitris Koufodinas, a jailed former member of the now defunct November 17 urban terror group, was on hunger strike for a second day Thursday.