FRANCE 24 meets Bulgarian Irina Bokova, the newly elected head of UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) who beat Egypt's controversial culture minister, Farouk Hosni, in a hotly disputed race.
In this special edition on Eastern Europe: the fight against corruption in Bulgaria; Ukraine's communist past; a garden with Stalinist statues in Lithuania; and a Bulgarian minister who is also a sculptor.
Sofia's centre-right mayor, Boyko Borisov, will lead a new minority government as prime minister, charged with steering Bulgaria through a recession and tackling the widespread corruption that has halted European Union aid.
An E.U. report warns Bulgaria and Romania on fraud, corruption and organized crime, 30 months after the two countries became member states of the Union. But is the criticism entirely fair?
Exit polls showed Bulgaria's opposition GERB party to be the victor in legislative elections on Sunday, ousting the ruling Socialist party. The Socialists conceded defeat after winning just 17.1-18.5 percent of the vote and 39 seats.
Bulgarians are casting their ballots in an election expected to see the centre-right opposition defeat the ruling Socialists but find it difficult to form a stable government, causing concern about a political impasse in a time of economic crisis.
Former Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku has been arrested in Bulgaria, officials say. Ceku is wanted for war crimes allegedly committed as military chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the 1998-1999 war in then Serbian-ruled Kosovo.
American World champion Lindsey Vonn clinched the Super-G race in Bansko, Bulgaria, to notch up her 20th World Cup success, extending her overall World Cup lead over Germany's Maria Riesch.
