News archive of May 2017

Several thousand protesters gathered outside Greece's parliament to mark May Day, and unions braced for more austerity measures imposed by bailout lenders.

Two large union-organized rallies are planned in Athens on the holiday, with employees at many public services nominally on strike.

President Donald Trump has invited Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte to the White House “to discuss the importance of the United States-Philippines alliance,” according to a White House readout of the leaders’ phone call on Saturday.

BP plans to complete by mid-2018 the Georgian section of a $40-billion strategic pipeline bringing Caspian gas from Azerbaijan into Europe, the British energy company's country manager for Georgia said.

An Iranian-origin British businessman who was shot dead in Istanbul had been threatened by the Iranian regime for the past three months, his relatives told the BBC on April 30. 

A number of events today commemorate the 141st anniversary of the April Uprising of 1876 against the Ottomans.

Traditionally, the center of celebrations is the Bulgarian town of Panagyurishte, where festive atmosphere and patriotic spirit characterize the day, quoted by BNR.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein voiced deep concern on May 1 at mass arrests, sackings and the renewal of the state of emergency in Turkey, saying terror should not be tackled at the expense of human rights.

Saudi Arabia wants German companies Siemens and SAP to play an important role in furthering the kingdom's "digital transformation," company officials said on April 30 during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the country.

Turkish police on Monday used tear gas to disperse a group of protesters as they sought to defy a ban and march to Istanbul's Taksim square to celebrate May Day, reported AFP.

Police tried to stop around 200 protesters in the Gayrettepe district on the European side of Istanbul who wanted to walk to the famous square in spite of the ban by city authorities.

As of May 1, 2017, citizens of Bulgaria, who used to have a Canadian visa during the past 10, years or currently hold a valid non-immigrant US visa, can apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA).

As Greek trade unions marked May Day on Monday with a 24-hour nationwide strike and protests against looming new cuts demanded by international lenders, opposition New Democracy attacked the country's "inept" government saying that its self-serving agenda had failed to guarantee basic standards for the working class.