Новости за 02.03.2018

Russia has canceled the strategic talks scheduled for this month with the US after the US delegation withdrew at the last minute of a cyber security meeting, Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said, cited by France Press. 

Two Greek soldiers were detained by the Turkish army after they crossed the border between the two countries on Thursday morning. This is reported by Ekathimerini, an e-newspaper, quoted by Focus.

Attack in the center of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, against the French Embassy and the General Staff of the Local Armed Forces. "The situation is under control," said French envoy Jean-Yves Le Diane, quoted by France Press.

Bulgaria ranks fifth in the world by the share of elderly people - over 25% of Bulgarians are over 60, according to UN statistics. It was presented by Ivan Neikov from the Balkan Social Policy Institute during a discussion on the active life of the elderly in Bulgaria, organized by the social ministry, Darik Radio reported.

Scientists from the Canadian Center for Narcotics and Mental Health at the University of Toronto have found that prolonged depression can cause serious brain changes. The results of their research were published in the journal "The Lancet Psychiatry".

The first Bulgarian exposition for startup innovative companies “Sofia Startup Expo 2018” (SSE) will take place in Sofia in March this year.

Jamaican musician Shaggy will join the Sting tour this summer to visit a number of historic sites throughout Europe. On June 19th and 20th in Plovdiv we will have the exclusive opportunity to hear the two artists who will perform pieces of their upcoming joint album 44/876, which will be released on April 20th.

Turkish state radio and television (TRT) banned 208 songs for their content.

Russia's Patriarch Kirill arrives in Bulgaria on 2nd of March on a three-day visit. His visit is at the invitation of the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as the Russian Patriarch will participate in the celebrations dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Rule.

The Serbian defence minister, Aleksandar Vulin, says Montenegro's decision to deploy two of its military officers to KFOR in Kosovo is "a political message of support for Kosovo's independence", Gazeta Express reported.

The Serbian defence minister says Serbia "cannot welcome that." It is not aimed at enhancing the security of citizens in Kosovo, Vulin said when asked to comment on the Montenegrin authorities' decision to send members of their army to the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Читать дальше...

Bulgaria is seriously concerned about the growing escalation in Syria. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said during today's parliamentary oversight, BGNES reported.

Again, more than 150 employees gathered in front of the doors of the Lovech Prison this morning to protest and demand higher wages, better working conditions and insistence on solving the problem of lack of personnel in the prisons and investigation detention facilities.

New 400 ambulances will be purchased for Emergency Medical Care. This was announced by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev of the Parliamentary Tribune, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio. Currently, the procurement documentation is being prepared.

Armen Sarkissian was elected as President of Armenia on Friday with a large majority of the members of parliament, Reuters and TASS reported.

Part of the schools in the country remain closed due to bad weather.

There are no classes in 898 schools on Friday, the Ministry of Education and Science said. Their number is still decreasing compared to the day before, when more than 1200 schools were closed.

The forced vacation continues in Varna District, where there are no classes in 122 institutions. In 89 schools in Stara Zagora there are no lessons. 83 schools are closed in the Pleven region, 77 in the Veliko Tarnovo district and 70 in the Rousse district. Читать дальше...

The US government has approved the sale of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, TASS reported, quoted by Focus.

The European Commission is ready to lend EUR 1bn through European banks for infrastructure projects for the Balkans.

The US company United Launch Alliance fired from the Cape Canaveral, Florida state-of-the-art Atlas V, with a meteorological companion called GOES-S.

Five people have been arrested after a chase with police because of a blasted ATM last night in Sofia, BNR reported. Among the arrested there are known car thiefs.

The corpse of a man was discovered in Plovdiv. The signal was filed this morning at 112, Plovdiv police reported to Darik.
 
The man, apparently about 40 years old, was found on a car hood in the area of ​​the District Government in the city. 

The official website of the Czech government has published official information on behalf of Prime Minister Andrei Babis, who explains the country's position regarding the CEZ deal:

After Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's meeting with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and the leaders of the Western Balkans, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev commented to the media that his country is ready with all the infrastructure projects and he is looking for European funding.

Today it will be cloudy. With an increase in temperatures, the snowfall in Western and Northern Bulgaria will transition to rain. In the rest of the country, there will be light rain, too.

From March 3rd, ''Vitosha'' Blvd, from "Alabin" Street to "Stamboliyski" Blvd., becomes a pedestrian zone.

For these two months Bulgaria has not only made progress, but also has finalised commitments, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in a joint briefing with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on 1st of March. The Prime Minister also said that it is important that Western Balkan countries continue the joint work of their special services, the anti-organized crime services and their prosecutor’s offices. He stressed that what we do under the auspices of the EU is not directed against Russia or Turkey. Читать дальше...