Foreign relations of Bulgaria

With two frontrunners for the top job at the United Nations, the Bulgarian government "now finds itself in a possible no-win situation" having to pick either UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova or EU Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, Politico wrote on Monday.

Two Bulgarians might turn out to be the main rivals for the United Nations Secretary General's seat that will be vacated by Ban Ki-moon late next year, Russian news outlet Nezavisimaya Gazeta has said.

Bulgaria and China pledged on Thursday to deepen cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, nuclear power, agriculture and tourism.

This became clear after a meeting between Bulgarian Prime Minister and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has been presented with a Special Award of Simon Wiesenthal Center, the international Jewish human rights organization, in recognition of her leadership and longstanding commitment to promoting peace and dialogue.

Novinite is publishing a farewell message submitted by Roderick W Moore, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Sofia. Mr Moore, who has had a number of diplomatic appointments to Bulgaria over the past 25 years, arrived in August to run the embassy until a successor to Ms Marcie Ries has been appointed.

Bulgaria's former caretaker Deputy Prime Minister, Iliyana Tsanova, was elected as the Deputy Managing Director of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

At its plenary session on Wednesday, the European Parliament approved the nomination of Tsanova with 454 votes in favour, daily Dnevnik informs.

Norway is closing several diplomatic missions around the globe, its embassy in Bulgaria included, the country's government has said.

At the same time Oslo is boosting its diplomatic presence in other places such as Haiti and southern India.

In an article published on Wednesday, The New American magazine identified the Director-General of UNESCO and likely candidate for UN Secretary-General, Irina Bokova, as a fervent communist.

The article is critical of US President Barack Obama for his apparent support for the candidacy of Bokova.

French President Francois Hollande awarded the highest decoration in France - the Order of Legion of Honour to UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

Bokova was awarded the third highest degree of the Order - Commandeur (Commander) at a special ceremony in the Elysee Palace on Friday, daily Sega reports.

The UNESCO Headquarters in Paris is presenting an exhibition from Turkey titled "Safe Harbor Turkey - Restoring Hope," an interactive photography exhibition highlighting Turkey's historic humanitarian support and current response to the Syrian refugee crisis.