News archive of August 2018

FRANKFURT/BUDAPEST: BMW will invest 1 billion euros (US$1.17 bln) to build a new plant in Hungary at a time when a rise in protectionism is forcing carmakers to curb inter-continental exports and to refocus production networks to serve regional trading blocs.

Over the years, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding bitcoin mining due to the amount of electricity used in the mining process. To tackle this, Brookstone Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, announced that it will be raising capital for the construction of the first phase of a 900-megawatt wind farm for the purpose powering a data centre and to mine bitcoin.

Hundreds of commuters and tourists in Paris were left stuck in sweltering Metro trains in tunnels for up to two hours on Tuesday night before being evacuated.

Hundreds of commuters and holidaymakers were evacuated from one of Paris' busiest metro lines on Tuesday evening after a power failure halted the driverless trains.

The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, apologized on Aug. 1 for causing "concern and anxiety" by hosting a 2010 event at which another speaker was reported by a newspaper to have compared Israeli policy to Nazi policies.

A legislative amendment submitted in Parliament on Wednesday stipulates the financial relief that will go towards victims of last week's catastrophic wildfires in Attica.

The top four Greek banks agreed to have Italy's doBank manage a combined 1.8 billion euros worth of their non-performing credit, the banks said on Wednesday.

DoBank will manage the non-performing debt held by Piraeus, National, Eurobank and Alpha of more than 300 Greek small and mid-sized businesses, facilitating restructuring when it's feasible, the banks said.

Athens. In an effort to show that the message from last week's deadly fire in east Attica has been received, the Greek government announced on Tuesday it plans to demolish 3,185 illegal constructions, built in forrests and along the coastline of Attica.

Smolyan. The partial state of emergency declared yesterday in Chepelare remains in place, Smolyan Governor Nedyalko Slavov and Chepelare Mayor Slavka Chakarova told Focus News Agency this morning. The road to Zabardo village and Marvellous Bridges remains closed due to a rockslide. The stones were removed yesterday, but then the rockslide resumed.

Sofia. Clouds will again develop in many areas in the country today. There will be rain showers, in the afternoon with thunder. Hail is still possible. Light to moderate wind will blow from north-northeast.

President of the Cuprija municipality Ninoslav Eric expects at least ten bidders.

"I expect at least ten companies to participate in the public auction, and on August 14, we will find out who the new owner of Ravanica will be," Eric told Tanjug.