News archive of March 2016

The new round of contacts between Greece and its lenders start tomorrow with EuroWorking Group extraordinary teleconference meeting to assess the progress of negotiation talks in an attempt to conclude the program review by mid-April.

President Tomislav Nikolic says he is "indifferent" when it comes to the verdict announced on Thursday in the Hague Tribunal trial of Vojislav Seselj.

Nikolic added that he also "has no feelings toward Seselj."

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is set to appoint one of his advisers to the Governing Council of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), his press office has said.

Elitsa Nikolova has worked as adviser on economy, regional development and infrastructure with the President since January 2012.

It seems that the government’s plan is to create hotspots in every part of Greece causing great damages to country’s tourism industry.

This year’s tourist season will be the worst for many Greek islands who continue to receive refugees and immigrants, such as Lesvos and Chios, while Greece’s biggest port, Piraeus, has turned into a refugee camp hosting thousands of people.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met in Moscow on Thursday with Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The two officials spoke in favor of strengthening military and military-technical cooperation between their countries, Beta agency reported.

The Middle East Now Film Festival, organized in Italian city of Florence, will screen Turkish director Ye?im Ustao?lu's films this year in its retrospective section. 

The sixth edition of the festival will be held between April 5 and 10. 

According to the official festival website, three multiple award-winning films by Ustao?lu will be in the festival program. 

Turkey's Health Ministry has said it launched an investigation into allegations a drug-maker, which it did not name, secured $85 million in business advantages through bribery.

Reuters reported this week an anonymous whistleblower accused Swiss company Novartis of paying bribes through a consulting firm to secure advantages worth an estimated $85 million.

One special operations police officer was killed in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Yüksekova district of the southeastern province of Hakkari amid ongoing security operations on March 31. 

While the refugee flow from Turkey to the Greek islands continues, the refugees and immigrants throughout Greece protest against the EU-Turkey agreement and the closed borders.

51,393 refugees and immigrants are currently in Greece, according to the refugee crisis management coordination body, with 5.337 of them being stuck at the Greek islands.

Tunisia's Central Bank said March 31 tourism revenue in first two months in 2016 fell by 54 percent to 182 million dinars ($90.21 million) compared with the same period of 2015.

The decline follows two major attacks by Islamist militants last year that targeted the industry and killed dozens of foreigners.