News archive of December 2019

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning a visit to Cyprus in early January as he returns from a trip to Asia, according to Turkish Cypriot media.

Pompeo will meet with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı.

JANUARY

January 11 - Romania begins a six-month EU Council presidency amid anti-government protests at home and calls from EU leaders to respect the rule of law.

January 17 - Human Rights Watch's World Report 2019 highlights threats to journalists and minority and immigrants' rights as key problems in the Balkans.

Some former and current politicians had roles in wartime events that most would like to keep under the carpet. As part of Yugoslavia, Montenegro took part directly in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic.

Russia considers a ceasefire in Libya a basic condition for the start of a political dialogue, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Dec. 31.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Lavrov said no conditions must precede the cessation of hostilities.

More than 8,000 people will welcome Pamporovo in 2020. The hotels in the resort are full. Guests include Bulgarians, Romanians, Turks, Greeks, Russians, Irish.

To prevent air pollution and increase safety, many Slovenian cities are canceling the traditional New Year's fireworks.

Local authorities have announced that there will be audio and video performances at midnight instead of fireworks. Other cities have announced they will replace fireworks with biodegradable candy.

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale was felt in Bulgaria. This was reported by the European Seismic Center.

The epicentre of the quake is 61 km south of Sofia, 20 km south of Samokov and 37 km northeast of Blagoevgrad.

The depth of the quake is 2 km.

The price of Russian natural gas for Bulgarian consumers will go down about 5 % due to a change in the entry point for natural gas deliveries from Russia, said Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.

The online platform of the Special Secretariat for Public Debt has seen a 65 percent spike in applications by borrowers for the protection of their primary residences in the last month.

Vehicle owners were on Monday given an extra 15 days to pay their 2020 road tax, as Tuesday's original deadline for the annual fee was moved to January 15, according to an announcement by the Finance Ministry.