Romanian gas production in the Black Sea is slowing down

The company Black Sea Oil & Gas - BSOG will start extracting natural gas from the Romanian shelf in the second quarter of 2022. The project is delayed, said the company's CEO Mark Beacom, warning that the lack of appropriate legislation for extraction of gas undermines investment, AGERPRES reported. BSOG is owned by Carlyle International Energy Partners and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, originally planning to start gas production in the Black Sea in November 2021.

The government in Bucharest has repeatedly promised that the law on offshore deposits will be changed in Parliament, but this has not been done, the agency said. This prompted OMB Petrom to postpone the decision on whether to invest in the exploration of the Neptun Deep deposit in the Black Sea until 2023.

Slovenia is ready to send air-defence systems to Ukraine

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has said he supports sending S-300 missile systems to Ukraine. Jansa told CNN that missiles were now most needed in Ukraine, but added that he did not approve of talking about what Slovenia was giving to Ukraine.

The prime minister said he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he considered it necessary for Ukraine to withdraw from NATO, with the decision voted in a national referendum.

"I think they made a pragmatic decision, because after winning the war, I think NATO will want them to join. When they win this war, the Ukrainian army will be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, army on the European continent", Jansa added.

Data from national census in North Macedonia under dispute

The main opposition party in North Macedonia, VMRO-DPMNE, has questioned the accuracy of official census data. They pointed out that 7.2% of the residents have an unclear ethnicity and are officially registered. Halil Snopce, an MP from the opposition Alliance of Albanians, said more than 132,000 Macedonians were not counted during the direct census. He also doubts the credibility of the 260,000 citizens registered as "living abroad".

The Roma non-governmental organization Avaya also said it would not accept the data as credible.

The National Coordinating Body for the Census of the Turkish People in North Macedonia and the Democratic Party of Turks in the country also do not recognize the counting methodology and do not accept the announced numbers and percentages, Telma TV reported.

Ukrainian diplomats in Belgrade call for removing Z symbol from public spaces

The Ukrainian embassy in Serbia has called on Belgrade authorities to remove the letter "Z" from public places in the capital, as it is a symbol interpreted as death and genocide for Ukrainians in Ukraine, BTA reported. The diplomatic mission called on the Serbian government to side with the Ukrainian people. Once again, we draw the attention of all representatives of the Serbian authorities to the fact that the letter "Z", which is written on the walls, cars and even on the tank in front of the national stadium, means "Kill Ukrainians" for us.

In an official statement from the embassy in Belgrade, Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin expressed "surprise at the behavior of the Ukrainian embassy" and said he had not seen such symbols in Serbia.

Bursa named cultural capital of the Turkic world for 2022

The city of Bursa in Turkey, inhabited by emigrants from Bulgaria and the Balkans, was solemnly declared the cultural capital of the Turkish-speaking world in 2022. The initiative belongs to the International Organization for Cultural Cooperation of Turkish-speaking Countries and Communities TURKSOY, including Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and communities from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Moldova.

The ceremony included an impressive show of athletes from different countries, a concert by dance groups, performances by the Ottoman Mehter Brass Band, and demonstrations of customs and crafts. Former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, chairman of the Council of Wise Men at TURKSOY, has called on the 300 million Turkic-speaking people around the world to unite and co-operate.

During the year, Bursa will host the World Nomad Games, the Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival and the Turkvision Song Contest.

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov

English version Rositsa Petkova