Member states of the Council of Europe

Bulgaria ranked in the last but one spot in terms of perception of the judicial system's independence, according to the EU's Justice Scoreboard, released Monday.

The only country behind Bulgaria in the ranking system is Slovakia.

The progress report is issued annually, aiming to assess both positive and negative changes in the EU judicial systems.

Novinite has interviewed H.E. Pavel Vacek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Bulgaria, on various bilateral issues, but mostly on issues in Bulgaria's energy sector and the repercussions they have on Czech companies.

Former President Ion Iliescu characterized, on Thursday, Russia's action in the eastern Ukraine as being "a bit adventurous", declaring that he was surprised by Moscow's action, but showed that Russians have a "certain historic debt" as the current territory of Ukraine hosted the first Russian state and this, probably, sparks "certain sensibilities".

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov on Thursday discussed Eastring, a new Slovak proposal for diversifying gas supply infrastructure in Europe, with Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Mitov arrived on an official visit to Slovakia on Thursday at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak.

BELGRADE - Bulgarian Ambassador in Belgrade Angel Dimitrov has hosted a reception to mark the country's Liberation Day, voicing belief that Serbia and Bulgaria will be of use to one another and pointing out they can serve as an example of good neighborly relations.

U.S. ambassador: Russia made big mistake

KOPAONIK -- U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby said on Tuesday that "the whole world needed the United States and Russia to have a good relationship."

At the same time, the EU needed to have a relationship with Russia as well, he said.

Balkan troops train with US Marines

The Platinum Lion 2015 joint exercise gathered hundreds of troops from Serbia, Romania and host nation Bulgaria.

A Romanian soldier accepts an award from a US Marine during the Platinum Lion training exercise that ended January 23rd in Bulgaria. [marines.mil]

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has said Turkey ?mistakenly? declared inaccurate coordinates for long-distance dangerous areas over Aegean Sea and canceled the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).

Ankara would not declare a new dangerous area for a certain period of time, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said in a written statement on March 3.

The last time George Papandreu became prime minister, he had to tackle Greece?s deep economic crisis.

Restorations will continue this year at the ancient site of Ani, on Turkey's border with Armenia, where new artifacts are continuing to come to light Work is continuing at the ancient ruins of Ani, a 5,000-year-old Armenian city located on the Turkish-Armenian border in the eastern province of Kars, with an eye on including the site on UNESCO's World Heritage List.