Three rescued bears returned home in Bulgaria

After rehabilitation in a specialized center in Greece the three bears Nikola, Misho and Aneta are back in the wild.

WWF-Bulgaria, together with the Ministry of Environment and Waters (MoEW), the FOUR PAWS Foundation and Arcturus (ARCTUROS) - Greece, gave three orphaned bears a chance for a new life. In several joint operations, the cubs Nikola, Misho and Aneta were rescued, cared for in specialized centers in Bulgaria and abroad and, eventually, returned to the wild. Experts agree that at this age they are extremely vulnerable and without adequate human intervention they were unable to survive.

"When a bear cub is left without a mother, it has no one to learn from the skills it needs to survive. There is no way it can learn how to find food, how to defend itself, how to hide and how to distinguish dangers. Staying in a rehabilitation center to learn how to be a real bear in a peaceful environment, unthreatened by humans, is the only chance for its survival. So, in addition to preserving the cubs lifes, we are also working to prevent any future conflicts with potential damage," says conservation biologist Aleksandar Dutsov, a senior expert in the Wildlife Programme and member of WWF-Bulgaria's Bear Rescue Team.

Greek Homeownership Out Of Reach: 11 Years' Wages For 60 Sq.m. In Athens

Greeks are facing a daunting challenge in the housing market, with soaring property prices making homeownership a distant dream for many. In Athens, it now takes an average worker 11 years' wages to afford a modest 60 square metre apartment, reflecting a steep increase in housing costs amidst stagnant incomes.

EU Agrees on a New Migration Pact. Mainstream Parties Hope it will Deprive the Far Right of Votes
European Union nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s failed asylum system on Tuesday as campaigning for Europe-wide elections next month gathers pace, with migration expected to be an important issue.

EU government ministers approved 10 legislative parts of The New Pact on Migration and Asylum. It lays out rules for the 27 member countries to handle people trying to enter without authorization, from how to screen them to establish whether they qualify for protection to deporting them if they’re not allowed to stay.

Hungary and Poland, which have long opposed any obligation for countries to host migrants or pay for their upkeep, voted against the package but were unable to block it.

Mainstream political parties believe the pact resolves the issues that have divided member nations since well over 1 million migrants swept into Europe in 2015, most fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. They hope the system will starve the far right of vote-winning oxygen in the June 6-9 elections.