News archive of November 2016

The new Israeli Ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Na'eh, arrived to Ankara on Dec. 1 to start duties in his new post. Turkey's newly appointed ambassador to Israel, Kemal Ökem, is expected to be in Tel Aviv in the first week of December, according to sources. 

Eitan Na'eh, the new Israeli ambassador to Ankara, will start his duty on Dec. 1, while Turkey's Ambassador to Israel, Kemal Ökem, will be in Tel Aviv in the first week of December, according to sources. 

Turkey and Israel decided to appoint the ambassadors' mutually, following the resolution of a major diplomatic crisis. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced her opposition to continuing accession negotiations with Turkey.

Merkel stated this during a meeting with deputies from the Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıdlrım and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli are expected to meet on Dec. 1 to discuss a new constitution that is being drafted with contributions from the latter. 

Western Balkan governments and the European Union have over the past year failed to take action to address the issues hindering media freedom in the region, the NGO Human Rights Watch, HRW, said in the 2016 update of its media freedom report.

It added that new, troubling cases of threats and attacks on journalists had meanwhile emerged - but also remained unpunished.

The 14 edition of Bulgarian Christmas will be in support of children with severe chronic illnesses.

The donations will be used for modern treatment, precise diagnostics, including medications, genetic examinations and psychological help for the children who have severe chronic illnesses.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says he left a meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday "because of the insults made by Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj."

Dacic said on Wednesday that Hoxhaj accused Serbs of being guilty for "all wars in the former Yugoslavia and for genocide."

The U.S. credit rating agency Moody's has announced it expected Serbia's general government fiscal deficit to be 2.3 pct in 2016.

This will come "amid continued increases in tax collection and public sector reforms."

The big majority of Greeks are pessimistic about the country's future, with nine out of 10 citizens saying that Greece is moving in the wrong direction, a new survey by Public Issue has shown.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has reached an agreement among its members on a reduction of oil output for the first time since 2008, reported Reuters, cited by Dnevnik daily.

The parameters of the agreement are similar to the ones outlined during informal talks in Algiers in September.