News archive of December 2023

Bulgaria ushers in the new year on a different note, as the State Budget Act for 2024 gets the green light, marking a departure from previous years of budgetary uncertainties. The freshly ratified budget signifies a significant milestone, offering stability as the nation steps into the year ahead.

A 35-year-old man was arrested on charges of fatally stabbing his 62-year-old father in the early hours of Sunday in Peristeri, western Athens. 

The assailant allegedly attacked his father inside their home in the presence of his mother, causing injuries to the victim's body, chest, and leg. 

Russia launched fresh strikes against Ukraine at dawn on Sunday, a day after vowing to retaliate for what it called a "terrorist attack" on the city of Belgorod.

Israelis and Palestinians end a dark year on Sunday, with no end in sight to the deadliest military offensive on Gaza, triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel.

There has been no respite from Israel's air raids, artillery fire or ground fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to the despair of Palestinians surviving the onslaught.

Substantial developments are anticipated in foreign policy and defense issues in 2024. Not least among them are the contacts between Greece and Turkey, which will be dominated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara (or Istanbul) in April and on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington in July. 

The price of fresh cow's milk in Greece remains higher than in other European Union countries.

Greeks seem to pay more for milk compared to other Europeans, as the Competition Commission has found in recent market research examining the price of fresh low-fat milk at online supermarkets in Greece and in 17 EU countries.

As the year ends, civilians are dying at a staggering pace in the Gaza Strip and the genocide in Darfur may be resuming. A man charged with 91 felonies is leading in American presidential polls, and our carbon emissions risk cooking our planet.

But something else is also true: In some ways, 2023 may still have been the best year in the history of humanity.

In a momentous announcement on December 30, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU confirmed Bulgaria and Romania's entrance into the Schengen area through air and sea routes, effective March 31, 2024. This landmark decision, made unanimously via written procedure, signals a significant step toward streamlined travel between these nations and Schengen member states.

Tonight, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale was registered in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The epicenter was at a depth of nine kilometers.
For now, there is no information about victims and material damage.
Citizens share their impressions of the earthquake on the networks and claim that it is the strongest earthquake ever.

After the Americans, it is Turkey that has the most F-16s