News archive of August 2018

China on Aug. 30 derided the "irresponsible and absurd logic" of the United States after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of making Washington's relationship with North Korea more difficult.

An Iraqi judge on Aug. 29 cleared a German-Turkish woman of having ties to ISIL, a judicial source said, more than a year after she was detained.

The government's aim to suspend pension cuts due to come into effect in January is likely to fuel friction in the coming weeks, Kathimerini understands, as the International Monetary Fund is adamant that the reductions should be made even if they are not required for Greece to meet budget targets.

The death toll in last month's wildfire in eastern Attica has reached 98, according to the fire service on Thursday.

In a short statement, the fire service said the latest victim is a 83-year-old woman, who had suffered serious burns and died in Athens' KAT hospital, at about 5 a.m. this morning. 

Sofia. In August 2018, the business conjuncture in the country was assessed as unfavourable, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. The total business climate indicator decreased by 2.9 percentage points month-on-month, with a decrease in all observed sectors - industry, construction, retail trade and services.

Sofia. The government has approved a plan to protect and store data from the critical systems and registers in Bulgaria by creating a backup repository, the government press office said.

Sofia. All institutions dealing with road safety will be consolidated into a single unit with control functions. This transpired from the words of Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev at a press briefing in the Council of Ministers after a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Focus News Agency reports.

Varna. An inspector from the Varna prison was detained on August 27 over corruption. There is evidence that he financially benefited from inmates' payments in relation to their legal status, the Appellate Prosecutor's Office - Varna said. Yesterday the inspector and an accomplice were charged with bribery.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar

Turkish defense minister and his Russian counterpart spoke over the phone about regional security, according to a Turkish ministerial source on Aug. 30.