South Africa

BELGRADE - Rogan, a family winery based in Lipovac, near Oplenac, central Serbia, has won a silver medal at an international competition in France for its Shiraz wine, the Belgrade-based Centre for Wine Culture said in a statement on Friday.

By Pepe Escobar the roving correspondent for the Asia Times.

The article is from the Huffington Post

HONG KONG -- A specter is haunting Washington, an unnerving vision of a Sino-Russian alliance wedded to an expansive symbiosis of trade and commerce across much of the Eurasian land mass -- at the expense of the United States.

ROME - Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor of Canada reached the men's doubles quarter-finals at the Rome Masters tournament late Wednesday by beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Jurgen Melzer of Austria 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 14-12.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is tipped to win the general vote held on Thursday.

With most ballots counted, it had gained nearly 63% of the vote, according to data by the Independent Electoral Commission cited by Al Jazeera.

This is nearly three percent less than in 2009 and will prevent the party from a desired two-thirds majority.

Nigeria outpaced South Africa as the largest economy on the continent, fresh data by the country's statistics institute show.

Its GDP was NGN (naira) 80.22 trillion or USD 509 B in 2013 and registered a strong, 7.41-percent growth, according to the head of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, Yemi Kale.

Bulgaria is ranked sixth in the world in terms of mortality rates in CIA's World Factbook for March 2014, published on the website of the agency.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is to take part in the EU-Africa summit, which will be held April 2 and 3.

Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin will also participate in the event, Bulgaria's CROSS news agency has reported.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has appointed Jovan Maric as ambassador to Nigeria.

The order to appoint Maric was published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette.

Jovan Maric, 73, is a psychiatrist, professor of the Faculty of Medicine and head of the day clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry in Belgrade.

BELGRADE - The Special Court in Belgrade decided on Tuesday to place drug lord Darko Saric in custody for 60 days, stating that the reasons for the order from December 9, 2010, to place him in custory were still valid.

The Buena Vista Social Club band included Sofia and Plovdiv in their farewell tour this summer. 

On June 30 the popular Cuban band will perform in Hall 1 of Sofia's National Palace of Culture (NDK). On July 1 they will appear on the stage of Plovdiv's Roman amphitheater.