A folklore concert, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of EU, brought together on one stage the Pirin Ensemble from Blagoevgrad and the Macedonian “Tanets” Ensemble. They performed together for the first time in the last 15 years! The hundreds of spectators enjoyed the colorful show and the performance of some of the greatest masters of folk songs and dances on the Balkans. Photo: BGNES

The European Center for Tactic Air Transport in Saragossa, Spain certified pilot teams from the Air Forces of Lithuania, Poland and Romania. The exercise is taking place a Plovdiv Airport near Krumovo. Bulgaria takes part in the event with a Spartan plane as the same machines are in use in Lithuania and Romania, while the Polish team flies on a C-130 Hercules. Photo: BTA

Some 160 workers, 30 archeologists, a team of restoration experts, geodesists and others, headed by Associate Professor Zdravko Dimitrov from the National Archeological Institute and Museum (NAIM) with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, are working on the archeological site near the village of Pokrovnik, Blagoevgrad region. A settlement from the 3^rd century was unearthed on the site. Experts have found buildings, funeral chambers, a bath and a temple. They have unearthed ceramic objects, coins and other objects as well as 57 human skeletons. It is supposed that the unearthed settlement is the Roman Scaptopara, the predecessor of what is nowadays Blagoevgrad. Photo: BGNES

Police officers together with their dogs made a demonstration of detaining a criminal and of discovering drugs. The demonstration was performed for the students of “Patriarch Euthimius“ School in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, central Bulgaria. Photo: BTA

Stylish pieces of furniture and iconostases, souvenirs and models are on display in an exposition of works by alumnae and teachers from the Wood Processing and Interior Design vocational school in Russe. The exposition is arranged in the lobby of the municipal building. The event is dedicated to the 135^th anniversary since the inauguration of the Chair-making” School in the town, as the establishment was first called. Photo: BGNES

The Defense Institute named after Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov is the venue of a presentation of the German BOXER armed military vehicles for the infantry. The event is organized through the cooperation of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Photo: BTA

Ukrainian journalist Mikola Hrienko presents a photo-essay entitled “Diary from Chernobil NPP”. The project was in the make in the period November 1994 – May 1998. April 26 is marked as International Day in memory of the Chernobil nuclear catastrophe, which initially took the lives of 31 people and another 4 000 who dies from radiation in the aftermath. Nearly 8.4 million people were victims of radiation in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. As a result of the nuclear catastrophe the territory of 17 countries across Europe was contaminated. Photo: Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria