Disaster preparedness

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could visit Belgrade on Oct. 20, while there is a possibility that "the promised" Russian MiGs will arrive before him.

At least that is what the daily Vecernje Novosti claims, adding that the details and date of Shoigu's visit will be determined on September 29, when the Serbian minister of foreign affairs, Ivica Dacic, is traveling to Moscow.

A "pirate" website for the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been launched in Turkey, five months after the website was banned in the country.

With its domain name registered in the capital Ankara, the mirror website "www.turkcewikipedia.org" contains all the content of Wikipedia in both English and Turkish.

Natural disasters are the new threat to humanity. Their number has increased dramatically in the last 50 years, so the number of people injured and killed has grown enormously. This year is another proof of the problem.

A US senator visiting Belgrade has urged Serbia not to grant diplomatic status to the staff of a Russian disaster-relief center that some Western officials suspect harbors spies and disseminates propaganda.

The National Park of Parnassos in Central Greece may become the country's sixth UNESCO Global Geopark, after regional officials initiated the process of drafting the application to United Nations agency.

The European Commission (EC) announced on Monday it would grant additional emergency aid worth € 6.48 million to Greece for the improvement of conditions in reception facilities on the islands of Lesvos (Kara Tepe) and Chios (Souda).

Turkish citizenship will be granted to a total of 7,000 Syrians after months of work on the issue.

Preparatory work on the issue was completed two weeks ago and the executive order on granting citizenship to 7,000 Syrians was presented and opened to signing in the cabinet meeting. 

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Saruhanlı district of the Aegean province of Manisa on May 27 at 6.53 p.m., the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has announced.

The earthquake hit at a depth of 10 kilometers and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, AFAD said.

As the death toll from a devastating flood and mudslide in southern Colombia rises to 314, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) sent aid packages to the affected region on April 8, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

A series of earthquakes continued to rock the western Turkish province of Çanakkale for a second day on Feb. 7, with more than 300 aftershocks affecting worried locals in the region, Doğan News Agency has reported.