CDE News

Turkish President Erdogan says to meet Greek PM in New York

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that he would meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York.…

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Albania votes in its first female dominated government

Albania's parliament on Friday voted in the first cabinet to be dominated by women since the multi-party system was introduced 30 years ago. After a parliamentary session which lasted more…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria reappoints caretaker PM ahead of third election of 2021

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reappointed caretaker premier Stefan Yanev on Thursday to lead an interim government until the country holds its third set of parliamentary elections this year on Nov.…

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Bulgarian president calls November 14 snap polls

President Rumen Radev has called Bulgaria's third parliamentary election this year for Nov. 14 after inconclusive polls in April and July failed to produce a government, the president's media office…

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Turkey logs highest cases of coronavirus since May 4

Turkey logged 27,802 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest number of daily infections since May 4, health ministry data showed, as Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged people to get…

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Merkel sees long road for Western Balkan states to EU membership

Western Balkan states have a long way to go to achieve membership in the European Union but it is Germany's goal that they do, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday. At a joint news…

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Serbian protesters demand more action to stop industrial pollution

BELGRADE (Reuters) - About 2,000 protesters marched through Belgrade on Saturday to urge Serbia's government to do more to prevent industrial pollution, and some denounced plans by Anglo-Australian miner Rio…

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Bulgaria’s parliament approves 2021 budget changes ahead of polls

SOFIA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament approved on Saturday changes to the 2021 state budget aimed at shielding the country from an upsurge in coronavirus cases and woo struggling…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Beyobasi, Turkey

An Afghan migrant who is taking care of over 200 sheep of Bulent Sarioglu in Beyobasi village, Turkey. Afghans in Turkey amount to 400,000, making them the second largest group…

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Turkey jobless rate climbs to 12% in July as supports end

Turkey's unemployment rate rose to 12.0 percent in July from 10.6% a month earlier as pandemic-related labour supports expired, according to data on Friday that also showed an uptick in…

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Fire in North Macedonian COVID-19 hospital kills at least 10

At least 10 people were killed when a fire broke out in a makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients in the North Macedonian town of Tetovo, the country's health minister said.…

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Bulgaria, EU’s least vaccinated nation, faces deadly surge

Bulgaria has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the 27-nation European Union and is facing a new, rapid surge of infections due to the more infectious delta variant.…

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Turkey optimistic inflation will drop below 10% by end of 2022

Turkey expects inflation to fall to 16.2% by the end of the year and hit 9.8% by the end of 2022, according to government forecasts published late on Sunday that…

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Dozens injured in anti-Serbian protests in Montenegro

Montenegro police used teargas against rock-throwing protesters during Sunday’s enthronement of a Serbian Orthodox Church cleric as the nation’s religious leader, with dozens reported injured. The enthronement of Joanikije II…

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Austria and Serbia vow to stop Afghan refugees entering Europe

The leaders of Austria and Serbia have met to discuss stopping Afghan refugees from entering Europe. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Afghanistan's neighbours should accept the refugees instead. He…

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Montenegro police fire teargas at protesters incensed over cleric’s enthronement

Montenegro police used teargas to disperse hundreds of people protesting against the enthronement of a Serbian Orthodox Church cleric as the nation’s religious leader on Sunday, a ceremony that has…

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Turkish hotels to close early after UK ‘red list’ dashes hopes

ISTANBUL, Sept 3 (Reuters) - When Britain announced Turkey would stay on its "red list" of travel destinations last week, Onur Arican decided to close his boutique hotel on the…

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Bulgaria imposes new restrictions to curb surge in COVID cases

Restaurants and bars in Bulgaria will have to close at 10 p.m. from Sept. 7, while indoor sports competitions will be held without spectators, the health minister said on Thursday,…

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Kosovo to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines

The Kosovo government decided to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines over their expired date of use as the country faces a sharp rise in the coronavirus death rate. The vaccines…

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Turkey and Cyprus monitor ‘oil sheen’ after Syria leak

Authorities in Turkey and Cyprus are on alert for any potential pollution from a 'sheen' of fuel floating across the Mediterranean from a spill in Syria, officials said. Fuel which…

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UPDATED: Bulgaria to hold presidential election on Nov.14

Bulgaria will hold a presidential election on Nov. 14, lawmakers decided on Thursday, as the politically fractured country also gears up for a snap parliamentary election likely to take place…

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Turkey says it cannot take on new refugee burden

Turkey cannot take the burden of a new migrant wave from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday after talks with his German counterpart, as concerns about a new…

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Croatia’s economy expands 16.1% in second quarter after COVID plunge

Croatia's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a record 16.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2021, after contracting in each of the past four quarters because of…

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Turkey’s COVID-19 deaths up to mid-May levels as new cases dip

Turkey reported 244 new coronavirus-related deaths on Friday, near the highest level since mid-May, while new cases dipped to 18,340, according to official government data. The rise in daily COVID-19…

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Montenegro seizes over a tonne of cocaine in bananas shipment

Montenegro police said on Friday they had seized over than a tonne of cocaine, their biggest ever drug bust, concealed in a shipment of bananas and also arrested two people.…

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Serbia closes largest unmanaged landfill in Europe

Serbia closed its huge Vinca landfill, almost three weeks after acrid smoke engulfed the capital Belgrade following a fire at the site, the Tanjug news agency reported, citing Irena Vujovic,…

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Bulgaria’s Socialists try to form unlikely government

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev asked the Socialist party on Friday to try to form a government, despite a slim chance of success, in a bid to avoid a third general…

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Plane carrying evacuated Afghans in transit to U.S. arrives in Albania

A plane carrying 121 people evacuated from Afghanistan and in transit to the United States arrived in Albania’s Tirana airport early of Friday. Passengers included babies, children and people in…

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Turkey reinforces border to block any Afghan migrant wave

Afghans who manage to make the weeks-long journey through Iran on foot to the Turkish border face a three-metre high wall, ditches or barbed wire as Turkish authorities step up…

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Turkey sees more than 8% economic growth in 2021 – finance minister

Turkish Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan said on Friday he expected Turkey's economy to grow more than 8% in 2021, and added that he expected the current account deficit to be…

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New election likely after Bulgaria’s GERB party fails to form government

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party on Friday became the second political party to give up trying to form a new government since last month's inconclusive parliamentary poll, bringing the Balkan country…

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Photo Story: Flags festival in Zagreb

Two Segway drivers talk to each other at the installation of art flags during International art flags festival in the downtown Zagreb, Croatia, 19 August 2021. Croatian tourists’ association organises…

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Airlifted Afghans to receive temporary shelter in Albania

Yuri Kim, ambassador of the United States to Albania, has revealed that a contingent of Afghans will be arriving in the Balkan country, without giving a precise figure. "We do…

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Photo Story: Ashura Day in Istanbul

A believer woman attend the mourning ceremony with her boy, ahead of Ashura Day, in Istanbul, Turkey, 18 August 2021. Ashura day commemorates the death anniversary of the third Shiite…

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Turkey offering extra Pfizer shots for those wanting to travel

Turkey is allowing people who were inoculated with Sinovac's coronavirus vaccine to take an additional Pfizer dose as it looks to ease travel to countries that have not approved the…

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Serbia authorises third shot of COVID-19 vaccine, minister says

The Serbian health authorities authorised a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people with compromised immune systems, health workers and anyone vaccinated at least six months ago, country's labour minister…

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UPDATED: Death toll rises to 70 from Turkey floods, 47 reported missing

Flash floods that swept through towns in Turkish Black Sea provinces have killed 70 people and emergency workers continue to search for 47 missing people, authorities said on Monday. The…

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Russia says firefighting aircraft crashes in Turkey – Ifax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens were on board a Be-200 firefighting aircraft that has crashed in Turkey, Interfax…

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UPDATED: At least 44 killed in Turkey flood as search for missing continues

Families of those missing after Turkey's worst floods in years anxiously watched rescue teams search buildings on Saturday, fearing the death toll from the raging torrents could rise further. At…

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Photo Story: Perseid meteor shower over Kuklice, North Macedonia

Two hundred stacked digital images of long exposures show Perseid meteors crossing the sky over the stone pillars in Kuklice, near the eastern city of Kratovo, Republic of North Macedonia.…

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Death toll from northern Turkey floods rises to 27

Flash floods which have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 27 people, the country's emergency management agency said on Friday, in the second natural disaster…

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Flash floods sweep through northern Turkey in new natural disaster

Seventeen people were killed in flash floods in Turkey's Black Sea region that sent water and debris cascading through streets, damaged bridges and ripped up roads in the second natural…

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Elections loom as Bulgarian lawmakers allow anti-elite party to withdraw proposed govt

Bulgarian lawmakers voted on Thursday to allow the anti-establishment There Is Such a People (ITN) party to withdraw its proposed government, bringing the European Union's poorest country closer to its…

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Photo Story: Heavy flooding in Northern Turkey

An aerial view of flooded buildings due to heavy rains in Bozkurt district of Kastamonu, Turkey. At least one person was killed and several are missing due to flooding in…

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#HelpTurkey under investigation for ‘spreading fear’ about wildfires

Prosecutors in Turkey have launched an investigation into a social media hastag critical of the government’s allegedly bungled response to the country’s devastating wildfires, accusing it of spreading “anxiety and…

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Photo Story: Fatal traffic accident in Turkey

Medical teams and people wait near crash site after truck and a passenger bus collided in Soma district in Manisa city, in Turkey, 06 August 2021. Six people died and…

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Turkey spent only fraction of forest protection budget before wildfires erupted

Turkish authorities battling the country's worst ever wildfires have been accused of failing to prepare for the threat after official data showed they spent only a fraction of the modest…

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Wildfire put out at Turkish power plant

Flames that threatened a coal-fired power station in Turkey's fire-ravaged southwest have been extinguished, local authorities said on Thursday after workers and residents were evacuated overnight by ship when fire…

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Erdogan tells Tunisia’s Saied that Tunisian Parliament’s work ‘vital’ -Turkish presidency

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied in a phone call on Monday that the continuation of the Tunisian Parliament's work was important for the region, his office said,…

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New peace envoy gets hostile reception from Bosnian Serb leaders

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - German politician Christian Schmidt took up the post of Bosnia's international peace overseer on Monday after a hostile reception by Bosnian Serb leaders who want the Office…

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Turkish fires sweeping through tourist areas are the hottest on record

The heat intensity of wildfires in Turkey on Thursday was four times higher than anything on record for the nation, according to satellite data passed on to the Guardian. At…

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Turkish foreign visitor arrivals surge to 2.05 mln in June

ISTANBUL, July 30 (Reuters) - The number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey jumped to 2.048 million in June, data showed on Friday, nearly 10 times the level a year…

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Croatia plans to reduce budget gap in time for euro adoption in 2023

The Croatian government said it planned to reduce its budget deficit next year to 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) from this year's 3.8%, to bring it line with requirements…

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Death toll in Turkish wildfires rises to four, blazes rage on

The death toll from wildfires on Turkey's southern coast has risen to four and firefighters were battling blazes for a third day on Friday after the evacuation of dozens of…

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UPDATED: Three dead as wildfire in south Turkey rages on

Three people were found dead as a massive forest fire burned for a second day in southern Turkey on Thursday, the country's AFAD disaster agency and agriculture minister said, with…

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Turkey’s daily COVID-19 cases surge above 20,000

Turkey's new coronavirus cases jumped to 22,291 on Wednesday, the highest since early May, according to health ministry data that also showed the daily death toll reached a six-week high…

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Turkey detains 200 Afghan migrants en route to Italy

Turkish authorities detained a boat carrying more than 200 Afghan migrants in the Aegean sea heading for Europe, Turkey’s coastguard and the International Organisation for Migration said on Wednesday. The…

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