News archive of December 2018

Cyprus authorities say a Maltese-flagged oil tanker caught fire and ran aground near a fishing village on Saturday, forcing several crew members to jump overboard.

Cyprus' Joint Rescue Coordination Center says the fire aboard the tanker Athlos was extinguished soon after it broke out. Five crew members were rescued from the water and taken to the hospital.

Bucharest, Dec 29 /Agerpres/ - The Official Gazette published on Saturday the decree signed by President Klaus Iohannis on extending the mandate of General Nicolae Ciuca as Chief of Defence Staff for a year.

Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari 4-3, 3-4, 4-3, including 5-4 in a tiebreaker in the deciding mixed doubles set in the Fast4 format, to give Britain a 2-1 win over Greece in the opening match of the eight-team Hopman Cup tennis tournament on Saturday.

Rick Pitino has won his first game in Greece, coaching troubled Panathinaikos to a 96-84 victory over CSKA Moscow on Friday night in Europe's main competition.

The victory came two days after he arrived in Athens to take over Panathinaikos. He said the enthusiasm from the home fans made him feel as if he was still in Kentucky.

Intensive traffic is expected to continue today.

A total of 530,000 are the Bulgarians who will travel for the holidays. The main roads will have a strong police presence. Traffic teams will also be deployed at Sofia's exits to regulate traffic, NOVA said.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis admitted last month his country was not ready to assume the six-month EU presidency. EU officials allege Romania is not taking steps to fight corruption and uphold judicial independence, reported DW. 

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday, monitors said, adding that a tsunami threat was possible for parts of the Philippines and neighbouring Indonesia, AFP reported.

Bucharest, Dec 29 /Agerpres/ - The visit of Jean-Claude Juncker to Bucharest, alongside the College of Commissioners and a concert at the Athenaeum will mark on 10 January the taking over of the presidency of the EU Council, informs the website www.romania2019.eu, dedicated to the Romanian presidency and officially launched on Friday.

Egyptian police killed 40 "terrorists" in separate raids early Saturday, a day after a roadside bomb near the Giza pyramids killed three Vietnamese tourists and their guide, the interior ministry said, reports AFP. 

Two raids in the Giza governorate killed 30 "terrorists", while the remaining 10 were killed in the restive North Sinai, the ministry said in a statement.

The last grapes of the year were served at the table of the family home in the downtown Athens neighborhood of Kypseli just a few days ago. No words were needed to express the hope that the grapevine in the backyard would yield another good harvest in 2019. The proud owners of this storied vine swear that every year the grapes seem to be sweeter, crisper and more vibrant in color.