DUBAI

Global leaders in government and public policy are gathering in Dubai for the World Government Summit, a forum dedicated to "shaping the future of governments".

In total, more than 4,000 decision-makers from 140 countries - including heads of state, ministers and business leaders - will help to shape the future of the planet at the event at Madinat Jumeirah this week.

Dubai-based Switz Group is the new owner of Athens-listed rusk manufacturer Kriton Artos.

Bulgarian national team captain Ivelin Popov has officially got a new club team. The player signed for two and a half years with Russian Rostov. As is well known, he broke up its deal with the Russian Grand Spartak (Moscow) by mutual agreement earlier this month. Popov, who had a contract with the Moscow team until May 31, agreed with the club to take four salaries.

Prospects of enhancing cooperation in all political, economic, security and investment sectors between the UAE and Bulgaria were reviewed recently at a meeting between the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov and the UAE Ambassador to Bulgaria Abdulwahab Nasser Al Najjar.

The first organized tourist group from Bulgaria will arrive in North Korea in April. The excursion will coincide with the celebrations on the occasion of the 107th birthday of the leader Kim Il-sung  - the grandfather of the current country leader, Kim Jong-un.

Greek authorities investigating a large haul of Captagon pills seized from a container ship at Piraeus port said on Tuesday they have so far counted more than 5 million items.

The drugs were stashed inside 540 lead plates, most each of which contained about 10,000 pills.

Greek authorities have launched an investigation in cooperation with their Turkish counterparts after customs officials at Piraeus port on Monday found a large quantity of fenethylline pills - also known as the "Jihadist's" drug - in a container ship.

The vessel had docked at Piraeus on its way from Syria to Dubai.

More than 139,000 Romanian tourists spent approximately 18 million euros in nationwide destinations during the Christmas holiday, according to an analysis of the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers (FPTR).

This organization requested the dismissal because Pacolli used "sexist and racist" language when he spoke before Kosovo Assembly's foreign affairs committee to describe "the way Serbia lobbied against Kosovo's membership in Interpol."

A rights group in Kosovo, the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, CDHRF, on Friday demanded the dismissal of Kosovo's deputy prime and foreign minister, Behgjet Pacolli, for using "sexist and racist" language in a report to parliament on the country's failure to join Interpol.