Government

Russia celebrates the 70th anniversary since the victory over Nazi Germany, with a huge celebration in the Red Square. President Putin thanked France, Britain and the US for their help in defeating the Nazi threat.

Many foreign officials are present, including Chinese, Indian, Egyption and Cuban leaders as well as the UN’s secretary general Bank Ki-moon.

The Albanian Foreign Ministry on Friday handed a warning regarding Greece?s plans to search for hydrocarbon reserves in the Ionian Sea to the country?s ambassador in Tirana, Leonidas Rokanas.

The Albanian government?s note verbale claims that the area covered by the research includes parts of the neighboring country?s continental shelf. Athens denies this is the case.

Nikolic meets with Raul Castro in Moscow

Serbia "cannot renounce its old friendships with Cuba and Russia," Tomislav Nikolic said on Friday as he met with Raul Castro in Moscow.

In conversation with his Cuban counterpart, the Serbian president said that the two nations share similar freedom-loving feelings and commitment to peace.

An Istanbul court that acquitted 26 people detained during the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013 has stated in its reasoned ruling that people do not have to get official permission for peaceful demonstrations, and demonstrations held without permission are not necessarily violent. 

The European Commission congratulated British Prime Minister David Cameron on his election victory on Friday but ruled out negotiations on key principles of the bloc including the freedom of movement.

Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership before the end of 2017 and wants changes to be made to the Union treaties on issues including migration.

Spokesperson for Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) Raluca Lunculescu said Friday that the Romanian diplomat aboard a helicopter that crashed in Pakistan earlier in the day was slightly injured; although he was rushed to a hospital in the region, he did not need hospitalisation for his injuries and it is now safely in the town of Gilgit.

By May 14, GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival should present the draft amendments to the Constitutions to all parliamentary groups, according to Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva.

Former Bulgarian Vice President (1990-1992) Gen. Atanas Semerdzhiev has died, the BNR radio station reported on Friday.

Semerdzhiev was born on 21 May 2024.

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Eleni Chrepa

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said there are no more technical reasons to withhold aid from Greece with his officials locked in talks in a bid to break a 100-day impasse with the country?s creditors.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Friday announced that he received the confirmation the Romanian Ambassador in Pakistan is currently completely out of danger.

Photo credit: (c) Liviu SOVA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE