American University in Washington

US President Joe Biden has nominated Kenneth Merten as new US ambassador to Bulgaria. This is stated in a statement by the White House.

Merten (b. 1961) is a career diplomat. Until recently, he was a Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Haiti. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Global Talent Management.

Şerif Mardin, a well-known Turkish sociologist and political scientist, passed away aged 90 on Sept. 6 in Istanbul.
        
Mardin had been under treatment at a private hospital, according to Istanbul's Şehir University, where Mardin was a Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.