Italy

Petros Lianos, the last Greek national who had remained hospitalized in Italy after being rescued from the Norman Atlantic following a fire that broke out on the Italian-flagged, Greek-chartered vessel on December 28, returned to Athens on Monday.

People traffickers have been recently using a new route to smuggle migrants from the Middle East into Europe, herding them onto cargo ships sailing from Turkey to Italy, euobserver.com reported.

Cyprus's president vowed on Monday to stay away from peace talks with Turkey as long as Turkish ships remained off the island, threatening its right to explore for natural gas offshore.

Turkey dispatched a research vessel to the south of the island late last year while companies commissioned by the internationally recognised government explored offshore.

By Andrea Rosa

Italian firefighters and forensic experts searching for bodies inside a fire-charred ferry braved fierce heat and thick, black smoke Monday for the third straight day but still did not reach the crucial site where the blaze broke out, authorities said.

By Simon Kennedy

Mario Draghi?s July 2012 pledge to do ?whatever it takes? to keep the euro intact has kept speculators at bay for almost three years. Bond yields fell from Dublin to Athens, giving governments room to cut budgets and start revamping their economies.

Turkey, the world's largest hazelnut producer, earned $2.3 billion from hazelnut exports in 2014, the Hazelnut Promotion Group announced late Jan. 4. 

Turkey shipped more than 252,500 tons of hazelnuts to almost 110 countries in 2014, said the head of the Hazelnut Promotion Group, Edip Sevinç.

Italian firefighters at the port of Brindisi have recovered the main black box data recorder from the Norman Atlantic ferry but there are fears that it may have been seriously damaged by the fire that broke out on board.

Another black box had been discovered on Friday. Italy?s Rai TV reported that authorities believe the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.

By Nicholas Comfort

Europe?s biggest banks have limited risk tied to Greece after selling local units and cutting holdings of the country?s bonds, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

By Leon Mangasarian

Greece?s political parties embarked on a flash campaign for elections in less than three weeks that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said will determine the fate of the country?s membership in the euro currency area.

EU, Balkans tackle organised crime, weapons trafficking

Balkan countries have adopted an action plan against illicit trafficking of weapons.

Balkan countries agreed to take additional measures to interdict weapons trafficking. [Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia]