News archive of June 2024

An extensive clean-up operation targeting abandoned fish farms along the Western Greece coast has removed 2.7 tons of litter from two sites, one in Ithaca and one near Patra.

The ten-day intensive clean-up was implemented by Healthy Seas charity, in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Europe, as part of the Ghost Farm Project.

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, who is also the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) commissioner for Belgrade, said work on establishing all local authorities and fulfilling all promises made to the people would start on Monday.

"The worst is over!… The transition period in the fight against inflation is completed and we are entering disinflation," Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek wrote on X, commenting on the latest inflation figures.

The annual inflation rate has accelerated from 69.8 percent in April to 75.45 percent in May, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on June 3.

Europe's new budget rules can work only if Brussels can stretch them. Eleven countries including France, Italy and Belgium, posted 2023 deficits above 3% of GDP, the official high-water mark for debt. But not all of them may end up being sanctioned. The regime includes ample wiggle room, allowing countries plenty of time to adjust.

In an interview with "24 Chasa," Acting Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov countered President Radev's claims about Bulgaria sending soldiers to Ukraine. Zapryanov emphasized that NATO, under Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, has clarified it will not engage in hostilities or send troops to Ukraine.

Bulgaria is the primary force behind the European integration of the Western Balkan countries, recognizing the importance of this integration for the region's security, stability, and sustainable economic development. President Rumen Radev emphasized the need for the integration process to be based on individual merits to ensure its sustainability and irreversibility.

Turkey is finally taking steps to reopen the Halki Greek Orthodox seminary, a long-standing point of contention between the two Aegean neighbors since it was closed by the Turkish state in 1971, according to a report in Karar daily on Monday.

In a rerun of local elections held on June 2, four out of seven constituencies saw different results compared to the initial elections on March 31.

The decision for a rerun in three districts and four towns was made following objections and irregularities that affected the initial results.

The Turkish Minister of Education visited the school and met with representatives of the Patriarchate and the Greek community

Starting July 1, food vouchers in Bulgaria will be exclusively electronic, marking the end of the transition period where both paper and electronic vouchers were accepted. Tanya Obushtarova, the general secretary of the Association of Food Voucher Operators in Bulgaria, said on the national radio that traders will still accept paper vouchers until their printed expiration date.