News archive of October 2016

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said efforts were underway to resolve debt repayment problems at the main shareholder in partly state-owned Türk Telekom, including a formula to "permanently" overcome the difficulties.

There are numerous phobias described in the annals of psychology. Phobias are defined as fears that stem from irrational causes. Arguably the most infamous of these, party due to Hollywood, is arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. At the mere thought of the hairy, 8-legged creepy crawlies, some people are gripped with stone cold fear.

There is a need to encourage energy liberalization in Bulgaria, particularly in the electricity market, a paper on energy reform in the country says.

Belgrade will make maximum efforts in its dialogue Pristina - "but we will not give Serbia away - not for anything," SPS leader Ivica Dacic has said.

Dacic, who serves as the first deputy prime minister and foreign minister, spoke at a party event on Sunday, noting that there was "absolute agreement" with PM Aleksandar Vucic when it comes to this policy.

A total of 84 people sat in the dock on Monday for a criminal trial relating to soccer match-fixing between 2009 and 2011.

Those facing trial include soccer club officials, players and referees.

Istanbul police raided the house of Can Dündar in the Çengelköy neighborhood of Istanbul, the former editor-in-chief of daily Cumhuriyet, as part of an operation against the newspaper on Oct. 31.

Police could not find anyone at home, but Can Dündar's wife, Dilek Dündar, flew from İzmir to Istanbul to open the house to police.

The recent appointment of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko as Serbia's honorary consul in St. Petersburg "has caused many reactions."

Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti also writes that the move was the idea of the family of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who made the suggestion to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Representatives of Greece's international creditors are pushing for more austerity measures as they have detected a budget gap for next year of between 0.15 and 0.2 percent of gross domestic product.

According to sources, the measures being sought by the creditors are worth around 360 million euros.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev has said would be "exceptionally difficult to retain the vice presidential seat within the European Commission following Kristalina Georgieva's announcement she is leaving.

However, Bulgaria will do its best to keep the portfolio of Georgieva, Donchev has told private bTV station.

The dispute between the government and the main opposition New Democracy continued on Monday with ND insisting on opposing the government's proposal of the rightwing veteran Vyron Polydoras to head the National Broadcasting Council (ESR).