Physical geography

Dutch actress and adventurer Manon "Tractor Girl" Ossevoort arrived at the South Pole Dec. 9 after chugging along on a tractor from Europe through Africa and across the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
      
"It's quite emotional, I'm very happy," Ossevoort told AFP by satellite telephone shortly after arriving at the Pole and fulfilling a decade-long dream.
      

A 63-year-old motorist was reported killed on Tuesday after his car was swept up in a flash flood on a rural road linking Scholario and Langada in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.

His sister-in-law, aged 63, was also in the vehicle when it got into trouble, but was rescued in time. She is being treated for hypothermia.

The state of emergency declared after heavy flooding in two Bulgarian municipalities this week is set to remain in force on Saturday, authorities say.

Torrential rains in both Galabovo and Radnevo, lying in the southeast of Bulgaria caused rivers passing through the region, leaving a number of buildings partly inundated.

Macedonia's political crisis stepped up a gear on Tuesday as the parliamentary Committee on Mandate and Immunity Issues, which is composed of the ruling parties' members, unanimously voted to revoke the mandates of the absent 31 opposition MPs.

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This year is the most disastrous in Bulgaria in modern times, reports the bTV national channel.

Since the beginning of the year, floods in various parts of the country claimed 18 lives and inflicted damages for hundreds of millions of leva.

BELGRADE - The Serbian government adopted on Saturday the national flood recovery program for those living in housing facilities that were damaged or destroyed as a result of the floods and landslides, which envisages grants-in-aid for 2,000 families that did not exercise the right up to this point.

No Bulgarian trekkers are missing in Nepal's northern mountains where blizzards and avalanches killed at least 29 people two days ago, a Bulgarian trekking tour organizer has said.

Evgeniy Dinchev told BNR radio station on Friday the Bulgarian hikers are safe and sound and will return to Sofia on Saturday.

The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) has allocated a total of EUR 10 500 000 to Bulgaria in aid for flood damage.

The sum is part of a package worth EUR 80 M which is distributed among 3 flood-hit countries, including Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

The first free downhill mountain bike race will take place at Vitosha mountain on October 11.

It is organised by the Level Seven sports association and is part of the celebrations of the 80-th anniversary of Vitosha National Park and of Sofia's bid to become European Capital of Sport 2017.

BELGRADE - The governments of Algeria, Indonesia, Albania and Bulgaria have approved funds totalling around RSD 79 million for projects aimed at reconstructing the water management facilities in Serbia in the wake of the May floods.