Member states of the United Nations

Has the purchasing power of Greeks slipped below the Bulgarians', or is it slightly below the EU average and improving? Depends on how to frame the question and what data you use.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent out a global climate "SOS" at a Pacific islands summit on Tuesday, unveiling research that shows the region's seas rising much more swiftly than global averages.

"I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS — Save Our Seas — on rising sea levels. A worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril" he said.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov will pay a one-day visit to Ankara on Aug. 27 to discuss regional matters, particularly ongoing normalization efforts between Türkiye and Armenia and Azerbaijan and Armenia, with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed more "retribution" against Russia as he celebrated Independence Day near where his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory two weeks ago.

The transport ministers of Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will gather in Istanbul on Aug. 29 to discuss the Development Road project aimed at connecting Iraq's Grand Faw Port to Türkiye's southern border.

The initiative is seen as a potential alternative trade route to the Suez Canal.

Greece's two biggest subscription TV providers will start sharing their sports content Friday, following an agreement they made last month.

"The agreement has no precedent in the Greek market, although we have examples of content exchange in the UK, Germany and Cyprus," Panayotis Georgiopoulos, CEO of Nova Greece, told Kathimerini.

On August 19, a major police operation aimed at dismantling an international migrant trafficking ring operating along the so-called "Western Balkan route" was conducted in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria, BNT reports. This route spans from Turkey through Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, ultimately reaching Western Europe.

Kiev said Friday its incursion into Russian territory had advanced, claiming it aimed to force Russia to negotiate on "fair" terms, as Moscow's troops announced new gains in eastern Ukraine.

Two and a half years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kiev's troops last week launched a major counter-offensive into Russia's Kursk region, sending more than 120,000 people fleeing.

Athens appears troubled by Turkey's reconciliation with Egypt, which is facing major economic problems as a result of the Middle East conflict. Ankara is utilizing economic incentives, but Turkey and Egypt also appear to be on the same page on regional matters, such as the situation in Somalia.

The environmental organization Green Balkans has registered an intriguing Bulgarian presence in the conflict zones of Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa, where military clashes continue. However, this presence is not related to journalists, politicians, or any official figures but to a young golden eagle hatched in Bulgaria in 2023.