Environment

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook Chile’s northern Pacific shore on Sunday, causing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.

The US Geological Survey originally reported the quake at 4.16pm at a depth of 20km with epicenter of 60km northwest of the Chilean port of Iquique.

By Chryssa Liaggou

Five embassies in Athens have already asked for the translation of a draft law on the break-up of Public Power Corporation, indicating an interest on behalf of investors in the so-called “Small PPC,” which is meant to rival Greece’s electricity giant once it is split into two.

Bulgaria will spend EUR 1.8 B by 2020 for protecting the European ecological network Natura 2000. 

The sum is set in the National priority framework for Natura 2000, presented by the Ministry of Environment and Waters on Thursday. 

State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation has approved a mechanism to compensate green energy producers.

The decision comes after a temporary pricing regime for their access to the country's energy grid was removed.

The construction of Bulgaria's Hemus highway is to start in 2016, according to Regional Development Minister Desislava Terzieva.

Speaking Thursday after a sitting of the public council at the Regional Development Ministry, she explained that the final route had been selected among four options.

Crimean authorities took control of Ukraine's Black Sea and Sea of Azov oil and gas fields off the coast of the peninsula.

The speaker of Crimea's parliament Volodymyr Konstantinov told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the Russian companies including energy giant Gazprom should be involved in extracting the resources.

Bulgaria anticipates a big wine grape yield of high quality in 2014, according to Ivan Pachev, Director of the Pleven-based National Institute of Viticulture and Oenology.

Pachev, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, informed that it had been a good winter for vines, with no frost damage.

Hundreds of people working for Irrigation Systems are set to begin demonstrations across Bulgaria. 

They are protesting over the lack of payment at the state entity, which is on the brink of declaring bankruptcy, Bulgarian website Dariknews.bg has reported.

The digital display in central Pristina, an initiative launched by Kosovo’s government commission on missing persons, is an inadequate substitute for the genuine memorial that was originally promised, relatives who have joined the boycott told BIRN.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic and Japanese Ambassador to Serbia Masafumi Kuroki inked and exchanged documents on Wednesday on the Japanese government's grant in the form of green vehicles amounting to EUR 3.57 million.

Mrkic told reporters that the grant includes 300 green vehicles for the needs of the public sector.