Civil awards and decorations

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev was dropped by his management company over his ties to Russia President Vladimir Putin.

The 68-year-old Russian had been represented since 2020 by Munich-based Marcus Felsner, who started his own management company that year after leaving Opus3.

The Royal Opera House has canceled a planned tour to London by Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, while the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said that Russia will not be allowed an entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest because of the country's invasion of Ukraine.

French Energy company Schneider Electric's Cluster President for Turkey and Central Asia Countries, Bora Tuncer, presented the company's "Positive Energy Award" to Fatih Birol in a ceremony in Istanbul on Dec 25. "Sustainable energy is the future and the technology will be decisive for that," Bora said during the event.

Achieving the universal, but closely interlinked, Sustainable Development Objectives set out in Plan 2030 is the key to meeting today's global challenges. This was stated by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in his speech during the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit within the framework of the UN General Assembly in New York, the press service of the Council of Ministers announced.
 

The centennial of Nelson Mandela's birthday finds his country free, independent and democratic but still struggling to reach his goal of social justice. Mandela's reputation is firm as one of the greatest world leaders of the 20th century, but his legacy also faces criticism for many of South Africa's current problems.

"We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference," said Nelson Mandela, the human rights activist, visionary and statesman who spearheaded the end of Apartheid in South Africa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili will inaugurate the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project on June 12 in central Turkey, Ankara announced on June 10.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday - whom he invited to visit Belgrade - Aleksandar Vucic thanked Aliyev for supporting the territorial integrity of Serbia, and added that Serbia also supports Azerbaijan in this regard.

"Mutual support exists and these positions will not change in the future," Vucic said.

Head of State Rumen Radev will be on an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on 13 and 14 October at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, reported BGNES. 

Barack Obama’s tweet condemning racism in the wake of the violent far-right rally in Charlottesville during which one woman died has become the most liked tweet in history.
The poignant tweet, in which the former US President quoted Nelson Mandela, has been liked more than 2.9 million times on Twitter.