Warsaw

NATO's policy towards Russia over the situation in Ukraine and the threat posed by extremists from the Alliance's southern border will be main topics of discussion at the next NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, which Turkey will host in the southern province of Antalya between May 13 and 14.

By Alexandra Kassimi

Over 140 weekly flights on new routes, an additional 189 flights on existing routes and 10 new destinations make up the picture at Athens International Airport this summer, which will likely be a very busy one.

The 8th Leyla Gencer Voice Competition, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and Accademia Teatro alla Scala, will hold its final auditions in Istanbul between Sept. 6 and 11, after its preliminary auditions in six European cities all through June.

"Sanctions depend on upholding Minsk obligations"

WARSAW -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday sanctions imposed on Russia should depend on upholding obligations from the peace agreements reached in Minsk.

EU "would respond to offensive in Ukraine"

WARSAW -- The threat of a new escalation of the Ukraine conflict has not been completely eliminated yet, says Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The German foreign minister "warned that a new offensive of separatists would not be left without an answer of the European Union," a Polish daily reported.

Central and SE Europe mayors gather in Belgrade

BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said at the opening of Capital Summit 2015 that Belgrade is "the seat of the cosmopolitan spirit in the Western Balkans."

The tenth consecutive round of negotiations between the EU and the US regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is set to start Monday in New York.

Talks continue as the proposal for an economic agreement was made more than two years ago. The idea behind it was for the biggest trade zone in the world to be created.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Europe on April 18 to oppose the world's biggest free trade pact between the US and European Union.

The United States gives importance to the ?quality of Turkish democracy? not just in political and economic terms, but also as a security issue, said Victoria Nuland, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, following high level contacts in Turkey on April 16, ahead of a NATO meeting in May and Turkish elections in June.

Bulgaria's capital Sofia is the No 1. city in terms of cheap hotel stay, a recent report reads.

With a one-night hotel stay (including room service) in Sofia costing USD 126.04 on average, the biggest Bulgarian city comes first in the TripAdvisor TripIndex Room Service report.