News archive of July 2014

The new European Commission for the first time will include a separate position for a Commissioner on Immigration Matters.

This is due to the huge flow of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East into the southern EU countries, said the new EC President Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview for Belgian media, quoted by the bTV national channel. 

Nikola Tesla Airport director detained

BELGRADE -- Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport Director Velimir Radosavljević has been arrested on suspicion of abuse of office, and is now held in 48-hour police custody.

Radosavljević is suspected of concluding "a detrimental business deal with the Wizz Air company, thus causing a loss to the airport," the report said.

Every fifth cigarette in Bulgaria is illegal, according to a survey on the illicit cigarette market commissioned by world concerns.

Bulgaria's budget records losses of nearly BGN 0.5B annually only due to the unpaid excise duty on tobacco products, private TV station BTV reports.

Prime Minister Oresharski has said he is to pick a "moment" at the end of the month to step down.

While in Parliament, he has also added he would quit politics.

"The only thing that worries me is whether there will be a quorum when I hand my resignation," website Dariknews.bg quotes him as saying.

DNA testing is taking a bite out of the Bigfoot legend. After scientists analyzed more than 30 hair samples reportedly left behind by Bigfoot and similar mythical beasts like the Himalayan Yeti, they found all of them came from more mundane creatures like bears, wolves, cows and raccoons.

Romania's female tennis player Simona Halep continues her easy ride at Wimbledon as she advanced to the women's single semifinals of the third Grand Slam of the year after defeating Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Wednesday, 6-4, 6-0, in 57 minutes.

Halep, 22, no.3 seed, scored her third victory against Lisicki, 24, WTA #19, leading her 3-1 in one-to-one matches.

“It’s not realistic to expect a seven-mile leap in the first year,” Jospiovic said on Tuesday as Croatia marked the anniversary in the uncomfortable position of being the first EU member state whose citizens were better off before joining. 

NASA on Wednesday launched a satellite designed to track carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas that is responsible for global warming.
      
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 took off aboard a Delta 2 rocket at 2:56 am Pacific time (0956 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
      

Current Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov was re-appointed for a five-year term, reports Dnevnik.bg. 

The government decision for the appointment was taken in accordance with the new Interior Ministry Act, which came into effect yesterday, said Interior Ministry Tsvetlin Yovchev.

Thaci "respects" decision that would give his party mandate

PRIŠTINA -- Hashim Thaci has said that he will "respect" a decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo addressing the post-election deadlock.

The court on Tuesday decided that the party that won the most votes will name a nominee to form the next government in Priština.