The country of Slovenia is the highest ranking Balkan state in the 2009 Global Peace Index, coming in at 9th on the list. The index, which is maintained by the Institute for Economics and Peace, ranked 144 countries worldwide and was designed to measure the relative peacefulness of nations and regions around the world. The index defines peaces as the absence of violence and looks at 23 different indicators...

Construction recently began on a new oceanfront development on the southeastern side of Cat Island in the Bahamas for a new PGA Village and Beach Club. This will be the third village operated by the Professional Golfers Association, or PGA. The other two are in Port St. Lucie, Florida and Las Vegas.   This new PGA Beach Club will sit on 1,906 acres of land and have two 18-hole golf courses designed by...

Overseas property investors at the international real estate portal Homesgofast.com have been investing in a new type of investment in Argentina. The property website has been presenting Farmland to its investors who are seeking alternatives to traditional investments as a unique real estate opportunity.   SCS Farmland in northwest Argentina that provides a solid return on a worthwhile investment....

A new section of the Sofia, Bulgaria metro was officially inaugurated in May. The extension connects Vassil Levski stadium in the city’s downtown area the Mladost neighborhood in the south of the city. The city plans to continue expansion of the line to the Sofia airport over the next decade.   The new metro extension is six kilometers long and has five subway stations, a distance that can be covered in...

The Knight Frank Global House Price Index for the first quarter of 2009 was just released and it shows that Israel and the Czech Republic lead the way over the past 12 months in terms of housing price growth. Israel saw a growth for the 12 months ending Q1, 2009 of 10.9 percent, while the Czech Republic saw growth of 9.9 percent. In the first quarter the best performing market was Jersey, which saw a rise...

There are seven towers in the new development called One Central in the Chinese administrative region of Macau, or Macao if you like. The planned 796 luxury apartments in this new project will bring the housing in Macau to a decidedly better standard that currently exists. The former Portuguese colony is known for its casinos and gambling, but until now it has had relatively little in the way of top-notch...

The Bayswater tower in Dubai’s Business Bay development district is the first building to officially be handed over to its owners. Omniyat Properties is the developer based in Dubai that has completed the building and it said that it will hand over its next Business Bay tower in several weeks. Bayswater has 24 floors with 293 offices and 11 stores.   Over 200 buildings, to be used mainly for offices but...

Queen Sofia of Spain recently flew from Santander, Spain to London via a Ryanair flight that cost just £13. The queen was visiting the northern Spanish city with King Juan Carlos to mark Spain’s Armed Forces Day. She flew to London to visit her brother Constantine, the former King of Greece, who recently had heart surgery at a London hospital.   A spokesman at the royal palace said in a statement that:...

The annual International Izmir Festival is set to open on June 13 and welcome some of the best known musicians from around the globe to the Aegean. This town located along the coast of Turkey is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country and will see many famous musicians play through July 20th, with a special concert on October 18th given by La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra. The venues for...

The Bulgarian mountain resort town of Bansko launched its summer season recently with a concert and festival at the town’s Pirin Hotel. The mayor of Bansko, Alexander Kravarov, held a press conference at the hotel touting a succesful winter holiday season and looking forward to the continued expansion of the resort as a year-round holiday destination.   The town has plans to expand the area’s sporting...