Politics

Authorities in BiH want to reduce the number of car crashes by introducing European standards and tighter penalties.

Traffic safety has deteriorated in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in recent years, with statistics showing a 7% increase in the number of people killed on the road annually. Each year, seven people die per 10,000 cars in BiH -- twice as many as in Western European countries such as Great Britain or Sweden. New legislation adopted last month seeks to change this. It includes a number of restrictions, designed to impose European standards on Bosnian drivers, and stiffens penalties for infractions.

Bulgaria's power regulator Thursday approved new electricity and natural gas tariffs that will take effect on October 1.

The regulator did not take into account the price adjustments requested by the electricity distribution companies.

A new one-size-fits-all daytime electricity tariff of BGN 0.146/kWh will replace the existing billing mechanism which charged BGN 0.098/kWh for the first 75kWh of monthly consumption and BGN 0.174/kWh for consumption over that limit.

The Alfa Bank in Serbia has purchased the Centrotekstil department store in Belgrade for five million euros.

Alfa Director Anaiotis Vlassiadis said that the purchase of the building in Makendonska Street, which is 1,893 square meters, is part of a long-term plan to expand the bank’s market in Serbia.

According to Centrotekstil workers, the money made by the selling of the building will be used to pay debts owed to company workers.