Georgia

A new Black Sea Roll-On/Roll-Off (RO/RO) connection between the ports of Bulgarian city of Burgas and the Georgian Poti will be officially launched on August 13.

The operator Port Bulgaria West seeks to establish a sea connection between the Caucasus and Trans-Caucasus region and the European Union and the Russian Federation, Darik news reports.

The two teams that left Romania in the Mongol Rally - Mamaliga (Polenta) Warriors and Dracula Khan - this weekend reached Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively, and their journey included a visit to a body shop in Georgia, meeting other teams in the rally, continual driving to the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan for 36 hours and a lunch served in a yurt.

Days before the country’s first popular election for the presidency, Prime Minister and presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speeches increasingly include references to national origins and religious beliefs.

BELGRADE - Serbia returns to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest after a three-year absence.

The Radio and Television of Serbia confirmed that it will send a representative to the 12th Junior Eurovision Song Contest, adding that the manner in which the Serbian entry will be selected is to be announced at a later date.

On Saturday, on the first day of the Balkan Athletics Competition, now at its 73rd edition, held in Pitesti, Romanian sports people won a commendable bunch of 17 medals, of which nine of gold.

Bursaspor has been knocked out of the Europa League with a 4-1 penalty shoot-out defeat to Chikhura Sachkhere, in a second round match that ended in a brawl in Georgia on July 24. 

Sources in the Albanian government have told Balkan Insight that Georgia's former President, Mikheil Saakashvili, is to join a star-studded line-up of advisers to the government of Edi Rama.

“This time I expect substantial progress at the meetings with the leaders in Skopje and Athens,” UN mediator Nimetz was quoted as saying in an interview for “Voice of the People,” a Macedonian TV magazine.

Nimetz will visit Skopje on Monday and Tuesday to meet Macedonian leaders, after which he will travel to Athens, a UN press release explained.

Bursaspor will need a victory or at least a draw against Chikhura Sachkhere to advance to the third qualifying round of the Europa League tonight, a week after a goalless draw in Bursa.

President Traian Basescu on Tuesday said that Romania had eight priorities concerning the forthcoming NATO Summit taking place this September, one of these envisaging the redefinition of the relation between the Alliance and the Russian Federation.