Brussels - The European Commission on Thursday opened legal proceedings against Italy over its failure to fully implement the European Union's common emergency phone number - 112.

The EU executive, in its role of guardian of the bloc's treaties, also referred Bulgaria and Romania to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for similar failures.

Sofia - Bulgari

Sofia - The retail prices inflation in Bulgaria slowed to 0.1 per cent in August, reaching 6.3 per cent since the start of the year, the National Statistical Institute said Friday.

Sofia  - The Bulgarian government Wednesday launched the construction of the nuclear power plant at Belene, which Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev described as the "largest project in the last 18 years."

The 5.8-billion-dollar plant with two 1,000 megawatt generators is being built on the Danube 220 kilometres northeast of Sofia. Bulgaria already runs the Russian-built Kosloduy plant some 100 kilometres upstream of Belene.

Bulgaria, a member of the European Union since 2007, awarded the Belene project to the Russian firm Atomexportstroy in late 2006. French and German giants Areva and Siemens were hired as sub- contractors in the project.

Sofia- US and Bulgarian troops Monday began a seven-week joint exercise to practice fighting terrorists in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said.

Up to 900 US and 300 Bulgarian soldiers are taking part in the drill, dubbed Bulgarian Panther 2008, at the Novo Selo Training Area in the south-east of the former Soviet-bloc nation.

Goals of the exercise, due to end on October 17, include making it easier for Bulgarian and US forces to operate together.

Sofia  - Bulgaria and Japan on Friday agreed a 36.93 billion yen (337 million dollars) credit for the construction of cargo terminals in Bulgaria's Black Sea ports Varna and Burgas.

The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation approved the 25- year credit, with a 7-year grace period and a 1.4 per cent interest rate, for the "construction and development" of container cargo terminals in the two ports by 2014.