News archive of January 2017

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Arab and Kurdish forces in northern Syria, has received armored vehicles from the US, indicating increased support from Washington under the administration of President Donald Trump.
A small number of vehicles arrived four or five days ago, SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters.

Co-director of the next Star Wars spin off movie Chris Miller, revealed what appears to be the title of the movie on Twitter:

So, “Star Wars: Red Cup” it is! The film will show us the early years of Han Solo, and fans are already going crazy with anticipation!

The state's deal with the Greek banks for the loans issued to Public Power Corporation (PPC) and the approval of grid operator ADMIE's privatization plan is coming into the focus of the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in Frankfurt and the Directorate General for Competition (DGComp) of the European Commission in Brussels.

Ryanair announced on Tuesday it is cutting its seat availability from Athens by 22 percent this winter, and also criticized the government on its policy and Athens International Airport for its charges.

The heavy atmosphere on the Greek bond market was severely aggravated on Tuesday not only by the German Finance Ministry's statement in favor of the International Monetary Fund's participation in the Greek program, but also by SYRIZA MP Nikos Xydakis's reference to a return to the drachma.

GDP has marked growth in both the Euro zone and the EU as a whole. But inflation has registered a dramatic increase. The economy of the Euro zone continues to grow, albeit more slowly than before, showed Eurostat data.

According to Eurostat, the volume of GDP of the 19 member-states of the currency union grew by 1.7% in 2016, compared to 2% in 2015.

The reduction in the income tax discount from next year should now be seen as a certainty, and it is destined to hurt most taxpayers, above all those in the lower income brackets. Changes in tax brackets and rates is also quite likely, as the creditors are insisting on changes there as well.

Opposition parties reacted with alarm on Tuesday to comments by SYRIZA parliamentary spokesman Nikos Xydakis that MPs should hold a debate about Greece's membership of the euro.

Speaking on Skai TV in the morning, Xydakis argued that "there should be no taboos when we are talking about people's fate."

Bulgaria's debt increased by EUR 2.1238 B to EUR 13.7619 B in 2016, reported the Finance Ministry.

Compared to November 2016, state debt increased by EUR 557.8 M. Internal debt in December 2016 amounted to EUR 3,4895 B; external debt was EUR 10.2724 B.

In 2016, internal debt shrank by EUR 189.9 M, while external debt increased by EUR 2.3137 B.

In what was seen as a response to a recent proliferation of Turkish provocations, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that the future of the Balkans and the wider region can only be built on the foundation of international law and mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation.