BOMBINGS IN TURKEY 
Two explosions in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul killed 17 people and injured more than 150 on the night of July 27 in the worst attack against civilians in the country since 2003. The bombs went off at about 10pm in the busy Gungoren neighbourhood located in the European part of the two-continent sided city. The second blast, which took place several minutes after the first one and reportedly 50 metres away, was the more powerful of the two. Police investigations are ongoing.

SERBIAN AMBASSADORS BACK
On July 24, the Serbian cabinet decided to reinstate Serbia's ambassadors to European Union member states that had recognised Kosovo's independence. The ambassadors were revoked "for consultations" earlier this year as a sign of protest against the recognition of the breakaway Serbian province. The proposition for reinstating the top diplomats was made by Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic after consultations with president Boris Tadic.

RUSSIA HURRYING
Russia will work actively for the quick completion of the two major energy projects, South Stream gas pipeline and Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, Russian energy minister Sergey Shmatko said. Both pipelines will pass through Bulgaria. Shmatko discussed projects with Greek minister of development Christos Folias and Italian industry minister Claudio Scajola, respectively, telling them that the Russian cabinet was striving towards the construction of the two pipelines through the Balkans because they would increase the importance of Russian energy giant Gazprom in the European market, Dnevnik daily reported.

ONE CURRENCY IN MACEDONIA
Amendments to the law accepted earlier this week by the Macedonian parliament make payments in currencies other than the official Macedonian denar punishable with a fine equivalent to up to 7000 euro and between six months to five years of imprisonment, Bulgarian National Television said. The new amendments end an era in which euro, dollars and German marks were accepted in financial traffic, a practice that started in the former Yugoslav republic and continued after Macedonia's independence until the present day. The problem is compounded each year when Macedonians from abroad, as well as tourists, visit the country and prefer to pay in euro or dollars, in spite of exchange rates in the street being lower than the official rate. Exchange bureaux are expected to see an increased turnover.