Business, finances, forex

Three countries’ top diplomats – the Foreign Ministers of Macedonia, Brazil, and South Africa – will pay visits to Bulgaria’s capital Sofia in just two days, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry announced.

Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki is arriving in Sofia Wednesday night for his official visit on September 1.

He will have talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov that will focus on Macedonia’s EU integration and joint infrastructure projects….

Source

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese environmental groups accused Apple Inc of turning a blind eye as its suppliers pollute the country, the latest criticism of the technology company’s environmental record.

Source

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned Iran that its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles could invite a preemptive strike.

“Its military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs,” Sarkozy said Wednesday, as cited by Defense News.

Sarkozy did not specify will countries could be involved in a potential preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a major issue in Iran’s relations with the West, with the USA and EU seeing its nuclear program as a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the ensuing international regime.

…

Source

Retailers expect the cost of the traditional 60W light bulb to rise when legislation preventing their production or import takes effect

Bulgaria’s government will be able to up the salaries it pays in 2012 because the country is already enjoying economic stability, Finance Minister Simoen Djankov promised.

Djankov’s pledge – made in the southern city of Smolyan Wednesday night – comes less than two months before Bulgaria’s presidential and local elections on October 23, 2011, leading to suspicions that it is an election campaign move (even though the ruling party GERB has not even announced its presidential candidate yet).

Earlier on Wednesday, the Finance Minister opened a new waste depot in the town of Dospat, and visited Devin, another town in the Western Rhodope Mountains, Smolyan Dnes, a local paper reported.

…

Source

IQALUIT, Nunavut/BAKER LAKE, Nunavut (Reuters) – At the rim of the Arctic Circle in Canada, gold mining firm Agnico-Eagle is learning how tough it is to operate in a remote region with temptingly…

Source

LONDON (Reuters) – A record rise in global greenhouse emissions and ever tighter economic constraints make it crucial for United Nations climate talks in South Africa in November to overcome years of…

Source

At least four Libyan rebel fighters have perished in Tripoli in an explosion that went off as locals were celebrating Eid-al-Fitr.

It remains unclear what caused the blast even though some residents said it was a car bomb and the blast was carried out by Gaddafi loyalists, as cited by Al Jazeera.

At the same time, according to a group of rebels, a car full of fuel was hit by celebratory gun fire as locals were rejoicing about their first Eid-al-Fitr after 42 years of rule by dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

…

Source

At least four Libyan rebel fighters have perished in Tripoli in an explosion that went off as locals were celebrating Eid-al-Fitr.

It remains unclear what caused the blast even though some residents said it was a car bomb and the blast was carried out by Gaddafi loyalists, as cited by Al Jazeera.

At the same time, according to a group of rebels, a car full of fuel was hit by celebratory gun fire as locals were rejoicing about their first Eid-al-Fitr after 42 years of rule by dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

…

Source

Only a handful of prostitutes showed up for a protest rally in Bulgaria’s capital which was supposed to bring attention to their demands for legalization of their activity and complaints of police brutality.

Some 7-8 women attended the rally before the Parliament building in Sofia, which was first announced last week.

The prostitutes stated they had been harassed constantly by the police in the past month, and that the police would not let them work.

…

Source