Member states of the United Nations

Pictures from Macedonia's capital Skopje can be seen at the European Parliament's visitors center in a short film dedicated to Sofia.

The story presented by the film starts with the 1997 protests that rocked Bulgaria's capital and goes on with later years of transition to market economy in the country.

Serbia lowest-ranked in region on enabling trade index

BELGRADE -- Serbia fell on the list of the Global Enabling Trade Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and is now 89th among 138 countries.

Two years ago, in the previous report, Serbia was 71st of 132 countries, the Beta news agency reported.

Bulgaria's mountain resort Bansko is in The Telegraph's World's top 20 places for the good life, ahead of Paris and Tuscany.

According to the newspaper, it is in the number three spot, below Andalusia in Spain and Gascony in France. 

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Wednesday that the country needed to spend more on the armed forces.

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified on Wednesday the Russian-Serbian agreement on the status of military cemeteries, which created the legal basis for the maintenance of Russian military cemeteries, monuments and memorials in the territory of Serbia, the Kremlin website released.

BELGRADE - Hungarian Ambassador to Serbia Oszkar Nikowitz said on Wednesday that he expects that the envisaged infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail lines between Belgrade and Budapest, and Szeged and Subotica, and the launch of an Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Budapest, will contribute to the overall economic cooperation between Hungary and Serbia.

BUDVA - The National Tourism Organisation of Serbia (TOS) will give a comprehensive presentation of Serbia's tourism potential at the METUBES International Tourism Exchange, Tourism Fair, Equipment for Hotels and Catering in Budva on April 3-5.

Balkan countries train together for ISAF

Joint preparation contributes to regional co-operation and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Croatia and Montenegro troops work together in a training exercise. [NATO]

Soldiers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia and Montenegro are working together to join the NATO mission in Afghanistan (ISAF).

BELGRADE - The leader of the Coalition of Refugee Associations Miodrag Linta announced on Tuesday that he will request that UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres reject the Croatian initiative aimed at rescinding the refugee status of Serb expellees, adding that this would be the final act of the ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Croatia.

Montenegro's parliamentary speaker Ranko Krivokapic will visit Moscow and Kiev this week as part of the OSCE's efforts to help mediate in the Ukrainian crisis.