Foreign relations

Vandals in the seaside town of Varna on Wednesday destroyed a billboard featuring two men hugging in front of the Bulgarian parliament, with the caption: "Nothing to be afraid of. It's just love".

After green paint was splashed on it, it was later slit through with a sharp object, local media reported.

Albania has defended a controversial decision to confiscate property belonging to ethnic Greek families in the south of the country.

On Tuesday, the Greek Foreign Ministry urged Tirana to annul the decision, which also involves the sale of minority property with an eye on tourism development, calling it a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Water pollution in Lake Uluabat in the northwestern province of Bursa, one of the 14 wetlands in Turkey mentioned in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (RAMSAR), has started declining thanks to a new water treatment plant.

The latest proposals for amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act will be discussed by the Parliament's Legal Committee today.

According to them, illegally acquired property could be confiscated also in the case of a suspended criminal case, and the one-year deadlines for confiscation are dropped.

There is no question of the benefits of having women in high places and in 2000 the United National Security Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the "important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts." Powerful women were celebrated at an event in Athens last week where the guest speakers were four female ambassadors who represent their respective countries in Greece.

Pellegrini, who had invited Brnabic to visit Bratislava, organized a ceremonial welcome in front of the building of the Slovakian government, the Serbian government announced.

After that, a tête-à-tête meeting of the two prime ministers was held, as well as a working lunch, organized by Pellegrini in honor of Brnabic.

Despite numerous tensions in the relations with Pristina, representatives of the Serbian government attended today's regular meeting of the CEFTA Joint Committee in Pristina in order to send once more a message of peace and tolerance, and show good will to constructively try to negotiate and solve the issue of imposed tariffs by the Provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina, in ac

Pope Francis will visit Bulgaria and Macedonia in May 2019. This was said by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva. She confirmed that an invitation has been sent, reports Darik. 
 
The Pope never travels to just one country, Zaharieva commented to bTV and added that the preparation for the visit was serious.
 

''We have not received any information that the USA intends to sail more warships into the Black Sea in connection with the situation in Ukraine'', Bulgaria's Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov announced, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio. 

Brnabic, speaking during a meeting with German Bundestag and Free Democrats' Party member Renata Alt, said this danger was due to a series of moves that Pristina has taken over the past month.