| | Bulgarian Govt to Sell Up to 25% of State Energy Holding |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:34:45 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's Cabinet is considering privatizing a minority share of the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding, a deputy economy minister has confirmed.
Speaking to journalists in Sofia late on Friday, Deputy Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev has confirmed what was mentioned by Bulgarian Finance Minister and Deputy PM Simeon Djankov in an interview for Reuters.
Djankov had said the government aimed to sell a stake of between 10 to 25% in state energy company BEH (Bulgarian Energy Holding) via a foreign stock exchange by the end of the year, which could raise "several hundred million euros".
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| | Monaco Prince Albert Skips Star-Packed Ski Charity in Bulgaria's Bansko |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:38:22 +0200 |
| | Monaco's Prince Albert II has confirmed has canceled at the last moment his participation in a charity event organized by his Star Team for Children association and the Bulgarian Ski Federation at top Bulgarian winter resort of Bansko.
The emblematic celebrity has sent a letter to the Bulgarian Ski Federation apologizing for his absence at the sixth annual charity show – World Star Ski Event, to take place in Bansko on January 28-29, 2012.
Albert II is skipping the Bansko event because of "urgent changes in his program", according to the letter.
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| | Bulgaria Posts 155% Y/Y Increase in Visitors from FYROM in Dec 2011 |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:36:27 +0200 |
| | The number of Macedonian tourists who visited Bulgaria in December 2011 increased over two-fold compared to the same month of 2010, according to newly published data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
The increase in the number of visitors from Macedonia and from Serbia was the major factor which contributed to an increase by 1/5 to a total of 144 000 in the number of tourists visiting Bulgaria in December 2011.
At the same time, the number of tourists arriving from EU countries fell by 3% to about 78 000.
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| | Bulgaria to Start Military Training in Schools in 2013 |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:05:35 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian high schools are to introduce obligatory military training classes as of 2013, according to the new legislation.
Theoretical military training classes will be available to university students and the general public on a voluntary basis, Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov explained Friday, after the Parliament adopted at first reading the new Reserve Military Forces Act.
The aim of the legislation changes is to recruit 3 500 university students or citizens for the voluntary military reserve.
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| | Bulgaria Sees 100% Y/Y Increase in Personal Data Abuse Complaints in 2011 |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:55:28 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry will be issued a penalty statement for a personal data leak committed in connection with the end-October local and presidential elections, the Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) announced on Friday.
In early October 2011, the Foreign Ministry published on its website about 37 000 permanent address registrations of Bulgarian voters residing abroad.
The expats were infuriated by the blunder, saying that it made them an easy target for theft and robbery and that they had to shell extra cash for insurance and security for their Bulgarian homes.
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| | Cost of 2nd Bulgarian-Romanian Danube Bridge Up EUR 26 M |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:45:56 +0200 |
| | The sum of EUR 25.7 M will be added to the total cost of the construction of the second bridge linking Bulgaria and Romania across the Danube River, the Bulgarian Parliament agreed.
The bridge will finally be completed by the end of November 2012, Bulgaria's Transport Ministry announced in a statement Friday as the Bulgarian Parliament voted to approve the measures taken by Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski over the past two years in order to ensure the completion of the bridge between Bulgaria's Vidin and Romania's Calafat.
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| | Bulgaria PM Pushes Through Lobbyist Bills to Benefit Allies - Opposition |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:06:31 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's prime minister stands behind a controversial bill, which is expected to deal a heavy blow to legal metal scrap dealers, the opposition says.
'The Waste Management bill aims to benefit only one company in the trade with ferrous and non-ferrous metals – Nadin company," Petar Kurumbashev, Socialist MP, fumed , referring to a well established scrap dealer, linked to the purchased bankrupt Bulgarian Kremikovtzi steel giant.
According to Kurumbashev the bills on waste management and forests have one and the same mastermind – Prime Minister Boyko Borisov himself.
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| | Sofia to Fund Repair of Burned Cathedral of Bessarabia Bulgarians |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:08:21 +0200 |
| | The Bulgarian government has announced it is going to provide a total of BGN 100 000 for the repair of the burned Orthodox Christian Cathedral in the ethnic Bulgarian-populated town of Bolgrad in Ukraine.
The Savior's Transfiguration Cathedral in Bolgrad, a spiritual center of the historical ethnic Bulgarian community in the southwest of Ukraine, burned down the night of January 26.
"Bulgaria's Consul in Odessa has already visited the Bolgrad cathedral, where the dome has been destroyed," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said in Sofia Friday.
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| | Bulgarian Tries to Cross Romanian Border by Pushing Stolen Car |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:05:58 +0200 |
| | Romanian police have launched an investigation against a Bulgarian citizen who tried to cross the Nadlac border crossing point by pushing a stolen car.
The 32-year-old man appeared at the border crossing point, pushing a VW Golf, and told the Romanian authorities that he was travelling in that peculiar manner because he had no driver's license, Bulgarian private TV channel bTV reported on Friday, citing Romanian media.
Asked to present the vehicle's documents, the Bulgarian citizen showed a certificate of registration, a temporary license plate ticket issued by the German authorities and a purchase contract signed between natural persons.
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| | Brazil-Jailed Bulgarian Champ: I am Telling the Truth! |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:45:27 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's former Olympic weightlifting champion Galabin Boevski, who was detained in Brazil and charged with drug trafficking offenses, has fervently claimed innocence in a rare media appearance.
"The most important thing for me is that I am telling the truth. My conscience is clean.... |
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| | Bulgaria's Love-Hate Paradox |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:14:57 +0200 |
| | It has begun to snow again. The flakes, silver and dark, fall obliquely against the lamplight.
Who would believe that under the peaceful and poetic whiteness that has wrapped the country, there is discontent and anger?
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| | Bulgarian Economy to Grow 2.5-3% in 2012 - FinMin |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:01:04 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's economy is likely to grow between 2.5% and 3.0% in 2012, according to Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.
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| | Bulgarian Woman Gives Birth on Way to Hospital as Ambulance Battles Snow |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:52:41 +0200 |
| | A 23-year-old woman from the northeastern Bulgarian town Dulovo gave birth to a baby girl in an ambulance on the way to the hospital on Friday.
The woman had gone into labor and was on her to the hospital in the city of Silistra because the delivery suite at the hospital in Dulovo had been closed in September 2011 for financial reasons.
A team of emergency room doctors from the hospital met the ambulance near the town of Alfatar.
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| | Bulgaria's Parliament Greenlights Joining EU Fiscal Pact |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:05 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's parliament approved on Friday the draft decision for joining the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union or the so-called EU Fiscal Pact.
The treaty was supported by 129 MPs, 1 voted against, while 48 abstained.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Nladenov, informed the MPs that the country has set six conditions for the joining, such as no tax harmonization in the EU.
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| | Dundee Wins Key Court Battle over Bulgarian Gold Project |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:49:47 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's top court has confirmed the rights of a subsidiary of Dundee Precious Metals Inc. over the controversial Krumovgrad gold mining concession for a 30-year period, the Toronto-based miner said.
The ruling by the five-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed an earlier ruling of a three member panel in a dispute, which involved DPM subsidiary Balkan Mineral and Mining EAD.
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| | Bulgaria's Chief Secretary of Interior Blames Low, Middle Managers for Failed Operations |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:48:15 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Kalin Georgiev , who came under fire for major faults in the work of the police, has said that lower and middle managers are to blame for the current problems at the Interior.
In a Friday interview for the morning broadcast for private TV channel TV7, he admitted that the last two controversial police operations, the violent raid of the home of the Nachkovi family in the village of Mirovyane and the search of the home of a murder suspect, during which he committed suicide, suicide of a murder suspect, had been ill-planned and poorly conducted.
Georgiev nevertheless insisted that the operations had been carried out by professional employees of the Interior and refused to name concrete people who could be held accountable for the mistakes.
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| | Bulgarian FinMin: Euro Can Go, We're Pegged to Deutsche Mark |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:19:27 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria should not be worried about its currency board in the event of a collapse of the euro, according to Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov,
Djankov commented on the euro zone debt crisis in an interview for Reuters cited by the press service of the Bulgarian Finance Ministry.
In it, he stressed that Bulgaria is not worried about the board that pegs the Bulgarian lev to the euro.
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| | Bulgaria's Business Climate Falls Slightly Jan 2012 |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:01:31 +0200 |
| | In January 2012, the total business climate indicator decreases by 0.7% compared to its level from the previous month, which is due entirely to the drop of the indicator in retail trade.
The data was published Friday by the country's National Statistics Institute, NSI.
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| | Bulgaria to Rule on Alleged Supermarkets Cartel within Month |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:55:04 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's anti-monopoly commission is to rule within a month on a suspected cartel agreement among six Bulgarian and international retailers, operating on the country's territory.
Exactly a year ago Bulgaria's Commission for Competition Protection said Germany's Metro Cash & Carry, HIT, Kaufland, Austria's Billa, Serbia's Piccadilly and Latvia's Maxima have been caught in an unregulated coordination of their trade and marketing policies.
All of the chains have applied common mechanisms for coordinating their trade policy on the goods supply market with their marketing policy in promotions, the regulator alleged.
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| | Bulgaria Resumes Export of Electric Power |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:37:04 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria resumes exporting electric power at 1 am Saturday, January 28, ordered Economy and Energy Minister, Traichko Traikov.
The resumed export has been made possible by the end of the effective strike of miners and workers at the largest State-owned coal mines "Maritsa Iztok."
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| | Polar Cold Wave to Hit Bulgaria Next Week |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:52:27 +0200 |
| | The blizzards, which hit hard Bulgaria, blocking highways and leaving thousands of people without electricity, will be tailing off only to be replaced by polar cold next week.
The country is expected to witness an historic cold snap over the next week, recording a wind chill of 20 degrees Celsius below zero, according to TV-MET forecasts.
In the early mornings the mercury is expected to plunge on average to 13-18 degrees Celsius below zero, particularly in western Bulgaria.... |
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| | Bulgaria Bids Farewell to Beloved Actor Kosta Tsonev |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:24:37 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria bids Friday last farewell to beloved movie and theater actor, Kosta Tsonev.
The wake started at 10 am in the National Ivan Vazov Theater in downtown Sofia.
Tsonev passed away on January 25, at the age of 82.
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| | Ex Bulgarian Vice President Marin Was 'Illegal' |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:07:23 +0200 |
| | Angel Marin was "illegal" as Vice President during the second term of Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, who left office five days ago.
Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012, reported "Monitor" daily.
Thus Marin's decrees subsequently can be challenged in Court as invalid and in violation of the Constitution.
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| | Bulgaria's New President: My Office Needs Good Airing |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:30:30 +0200 |
| | The Presidential Office needs a good airing, and I open my window every day, says new Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev.
Thursday night in Brussels, Plevneliev took part in an extremely open and informal conversation with Bulgarians working in European institutions.
The participants have been invited in person by the Head of State and had the opportunity to ask him all kinds of questions and receive an answer.
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| | Bulgaria, World Mark Holocaust Memorial Day |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:50:14 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria joins Friday many countries worldwide in marking International Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27) - a day dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of The Holocaust.
The chosen date is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Union Red Army in 1945.
Holocaust Memorial Day focuses on opportunities to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future.
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| | Bulgaria Still under Code Red over Heavy Snow |
| | Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:20:01 +0200 |
| | The situation in Bulgaria remains difficult and serious Friday in the aftermath of the blizzard that gripped the country Wednesday and Thursday.
Seven municipalities have declared emergency situation. According to data from the power utilities – about 121, mostly small and difficult to access villages, remain without power.
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| | Humbled Bulgaria Police Boss Keeps Job, Vows to Learn |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:32:47 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Kalin Georgiev will keep his office, it became clear following earlier reports he has filed his resignation with PM Boyko Borisov.
The resignation reports came Thursday after a fresh case of police brutality over the weekend raised calls from rights activists and opposition for resignations within the Ministry of Interior.
Thursday Georgiev and Borisov met to discuss the matter, and after the meeting it was announced that Georgiev will continue to serve as the Bulgarian police's Chief Secreatary.
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| | Bulgarian Police Beat Own Record for Bombastic Spec Op Name |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:58:48 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian police have publicized carrying out a "special operation" against an extortion group just at a time when a police brutality scandal has raised calls for senior resignations within the Ministry of Interior.
Ever since the taking over of Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the Bulgarian police has become notorious with inventing spectacular codenames for its many special ops, but this time it has surpassed itself by coining a exuberantly over-the-top appellation.
The special operation, carried out in Bulgarian capital Sofia, was codenamed RALICA.... |
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| | Bulgarian, EU Presidents to Press Netherlands on Schengen |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:10:17 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy vowed to try to convince the Dutch government to reverse a negative stance on Bulgaria's Schengen entry.
Thursday Plevneliev met Rompuy in his Brussels roundtrip, the first international visit since assuming office Sunday.
Rompuy expressed satisfaction at Bulgaria's Schengen progress and assured that EU institutions are in favor of Bulgaria and Romania's swift accession to the Schengen Agreement.
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| | Russian Orthodox Church Gathers Aid for Debt-Ridden Greece |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:16:40 +0200 |
| | The Russian Orthodox Church has started a solidarity aid campaign, gathering funds for fellow orthodox Greece, which has been plagued by a severe financial crisis.
Russian Patriarch Kirill has blessed the collection of donations in all orthodox churches across Russia.
Thursday Patriarch Kirill met with chair of Greek conservative party New Democracy Antonis Samaras and expressed the "deep compassion that Russians feel for the Greek people in this time of trial.... |
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| | Bulgaria's Chief Interior Secretary Hints of Likely Resignation |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:44:35 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Kalin Georgiev, hinted before journalists Thursday that he was ready to resign over recent harsh criticism of the work of the country's police.
"I think that I am a responsible individual. I have made my decision and have reported it to Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov.... |
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| | Bulgaria, Romania Schengen Hopes to Be Dashed - Report |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:31:24 +0200 |
| | The Co-operation and Verification Mechanism progress report for Bulgaria and Romania due early February is expected to be negative, according to information by diplomatic sources in Denmark's capital Copenhagen.
This is likely to stall a long overdue Schengen membership for both countries, as member states such as the Netherlands and Finland have insisted on linking progress in combating corruption and organized crime with Schengen entry.
Agencies Thursday quote the unnamed sources from the Danish EU Presidency, who say that Bulgarian and Romanian expectations for a swift positive end of their Schengen saga will likely come to nought.
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| | EC Refers Bulgaria to Court over EU Railway Law |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:12:57 +0200 |
| | The European Commission has said it will alert the European Court of Justice about Bulgaria's failure to ensure the proper implementation of "first railway package" legislation.
The irregularities concern the implementation of provisions on charges which railway undertakings have to pay for access to the infrastructure, the EC press office said in a statement on Thursday.
The main objective of the three directives of the first railway package is to create a basis for market opening and competition in rail services.
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| | Bulgarian President in Brussels: We Need More Europe! |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:02:18 +0200 |
| | New Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, who is on his first international visit, met Thursday European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"We need a stronger and more effective EU. More Europe means, among other things, a better developed Bulgaria," stated Plevneliev after the meeting.
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| | Bulgaria, Greece Turn WD Teen Patient Nightmare into Happy Ending |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:46:12 +0200 |
| | A thirteen-year-old Bulgarian comatose patient, who was saved after authorities and doctors in Bulgaria and Greece pooled their efforts for a liver transplant, took the first step toward his new life on Thursday.
"The operation is unique in that it brings together the efforts of two countries – Bulgaria and Greece. Fortunately our attempt to save the child's life proved successful," Dr.... |
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| | Tackling the Crisis in Europe: Deregulation and Privatization? |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:36:47 +0200 |
| | 2011's Davos World Economic Forum marks a new stage on the debate for EU emergence from the crisis with important speeches by adversaries Angela Merkel and David Cameron.
Perhaps the key significant moment was a shift of rhetoric by both the German Chancellor and the UK PM towards a strong emphasis on growth and jobs, replacing the old austerity-only mantra.
Yet, deep divisions remain.... |
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| | Notorious Bulgarian Ex Chief Prosecutor Mocks 'Octopus' Case |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:32:55 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's former Chief Prosecutor, Nikola Filchev, firmly denied in Court Thursday that he had maintained close ties with defendant Alexey Petrov AKA The Octopus and The Tractor.
Filchev took the witness stand in the high-profile organized crime case against Petrov.
The indictment against the former employee of the State Agency for National Security, DANS, murky businessman and alleged crime boss Alexey Petrov was filed by the prosecution following an investigation of close to two years.... |
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| | Stanishev to Barroso: EU Needs to Get Progressive, Social |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:19:07 +0200 |
| | The EU must take swift and concrete steps to promote growth and more jobs, said PES President Sergey Stanishev upon meeting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Thursday the Bulgarian socialist leader took part in political consultations that the EC President is undertaking with European parties' leaders regarding measures for emergence from the crisis in the EU.
"EU leaders must back up rhetoric with concrete action for growth and jobs, and a truly social Europe," said the PES President.
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| | Sofia City Court Judges Defend Colleague against Insults by Interior Minister |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:18:50 +0200 |
| | Judges from the Penal Division of the Sofia City Court (SCC) have come up with a statement in support of Miroslava Todorova, judge at SCC and Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association (BJA), who was repeatedly accused by Interior Minster Tsvetan Tsvetanov of affiliations with organized crime.
The document, which was released Thursday, has also been signed by Vladimira Yaneva, SCC Chair and close family friend of Tsvetanov, according to reports of the Bulgarian Legal World Magazine.
In a series of media appearances, Tsvetanov accused Todorova of patronizing organized crime and of being incompetent at her job.
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| | 2nd New Vice-Min Appoited at Bulgaria Economy Ministry |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:52:31 +0200 |
| | Dimitar Chohadzhiev has been appointed Vice-Minister of Economy by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov Thursday.
Up to now, Chohadzhiev has been adviser to Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov.
He joins Julieta Hubenova as the second Vice-Minister appointed at the Bulgarian large Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism over the week.
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| | Bulgaria's Designated Fishing Ports Grow to 3 |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:17:08 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's Transport Ministry has transferred the fishing ports in the northern Black Sea cities of Varna and Balchik to Ribni Resursi EOOD ("Fish Resources EOOD"), a limited liability company 100% owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
As a result of the step, the fishing ports in Bulgaria become three, according to Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov.
Through this step, Bulgaria fulfills its commitment to preserve fishing jobs and the ports will be eligible to apply for EU financing for modernization under the Fisheries Operational Program.
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| | Sofia University Snubs Raising Fees, Deplores Funding |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:14:48 +0200 |
| | The Academic Council of Bulgaria's Sofia University has decided to not raise student fees in 2012, in spite it was allowed to do so by the government.
"At a time of crisis and stagnation of higher education, it would be cynical to throw the burden of financing education on students and their families," stated Sofia University Rector, Prof. Ivan Ilchev.
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| | Bulgarian Opposition with No Confidence Vote over Police Brutality |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:15 +0200 |
| | The Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, is launching consultations with other opposition formations for a no confidence vote against the cabinet.
The no-confidence vote against the cabinet of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, will be on the grounds of the more and more frequent cases of police brutality in the country and the refusal of Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, to distinguish from the actions of Interior Ministry employees.
This would be the second no confidence vote against the cabinet over actions of the Interior Minister.... |
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| | Hillary Clinton to Visit Bulgaria in February |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:49:05 +0200 |
| | US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to be on an official visit to Bulgaria on February 4 and February 5, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
Clinton was invited by Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov back in October 2010 during his visit to the US in which the Bulgarian government's anti-corruption measures were discussed.
The US Embassy in Sofia has told the local Trud daily that it has received a confirmation by the US Department of State concerning Hillary Clinton's visit.
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| | Snow Freezes Freight Traffic on Bulgaria's Roads |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:39:26 +0200 |
| | Heavy freight trucks have been banned from travelling in and through Bulgaria, as heavy snowfall that started overnight is continuing throughout the country Thursday.
The situation is critical in the Ruse and Razgrad regions of northeastern Bulgaria, where the vast majority of roads have been closed, due to snow drifts of 0.7-1.... |
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| | NATO Secretary General Thanks President Plevneliev for Bulgaria's Contribution |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:22:11 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's participation in NATO was given a high assessment by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"2012 will be an important year for NATO and Bulgaria may play an important part in the process," Rasmussen said after a Thursday meeting with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Brussels.
"The fact that you chose to visit the NATO headquarters so soon after your inauguration is a clear sign of your attitude towards our organization", he told Plevneliev.
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| | Bulgaria Joins Romania in Danube Sturgeon Protection |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:15:03 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria has officially extended its one-year ban on Danube sturgeon fishing for a further four year, thus joining its northern neighbor Romania.
"It is of utmost importance that Bulgaria has finally joined Romania in this very important measure", said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria, as cited by WWF.
"The Romanian moratorium came into force in April 2006, but considering that the Danube serves as a national border between Bulgaria and Romania, a one-sided ban was not effective," she pointed out.
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| | Bulgarian PM Vows Sofia Airport Metro Connection by 2014 |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:01:54 +0200 |
| | The Sofia subway will reach the airport in 2014, according to the promise of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.
The new deadline is ahead of the previous schedule, after it became clear at the end of 2011 that the segment between the main Sofia thoroughfare "Tsarigradsko Shosse" boulevard and the airport will be included in the current program period of the EU operational program "Transport" and a public procurement tender for a construction contractor was announced.
Other lines of the capital's metro will also be finished several months ahead of schedule, according to Borisov, who spoke during a tour and inspection of construction works.
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| | Bulgarian MPs Bow to Legendary Actor Kosta Tsonev |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:27:40 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian Members of the Parliament began their workday Thursday by observing a minute of silence in tribute of legendary Bulgarian cinema and theater actor, Kosta Tsonev.
Tsonev passed away Wednesday, at the age of 82, after a prolonged and serious illness.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, addressed the MPs, saying the actor was one of the symbols of an entire era in Bulgarian cinema and theater along with being an individual with an uncompromising civil position as an MP in two General Assemblies.
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| | Levski Renew Bid for Troubled Bojinov - Report |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:18:07 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian club Levski Sofia will try once again to complete a surprising transfer by snapping up Sporting Lisbon's unwanted striker Valeri Bojinov, it has been reported.
Bojinov stirred a scandal last week by shoving a team mate aside to take a vital injury-time penalty – which he missed. He was subsequently expelled from Sporting's first team and his future at Estadio Jose Alvarade is extremely doubtful.
... |
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| | Bulgarian PM Not Bothered by First Lady's Dislike to Him |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:35:35 +0200 |
| | Bulgarian Prime Minister is not concerned with the political comments against him and his party that were discovered in the Twitter page of Yuliana Plevnelieva, the wife of Bulgaria's new President Rosen Plevneliev.
"In our party, we do not get involved in the people's personal relations. She has three children and the family is living fine, so everything is okay.... |
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| | Sofia City Hall Convenes Emergency Headquarters over Snow |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:35:28 +0200 |
| | The Sofia City Hall has called emergency headquarters to coordinate the cleaning of snow-covered roads.
It has been snowing in the capital since the wee hours Wednesday and there is a reported a 35-cm snow cover.
The Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, informs that all available snow plows and other snow removal equipment – about 200 machines, are on the streets and had cleaned non-stop overnight into the day Thursday.
... |
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| | Prosecution Was Pressured into Closing 'Tapegate' Trial – Bulgarian Customs Agency Head |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:25:30 +0200 |
| | Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov has boasted that the administration collected BGN 800 M more than planned in 2011.
"We got positive estimates both from the EU and in the OLAF report. Since the beginning of 2012, forty pre-trial proceedings have been opened for smuggling of excise goods.... |
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| | Blizzard Grips Bulgaria, Staggering Power Outages Reported |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:44:15 +0200 |
| | About 53 000 customers of the Power Utility CEZ, serving western and southwestern Bulgaria, are without electricity over the heavy snowfall, the company announces.
In exception of Sofia, the entire territory served by CEZ is experiencing interruptions in the power supply. The worse affected are small villages, where access is very difficult.
... |
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| | Bulgarian PM Wants Interior Secretary Axed over Police Brutality |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:39:38 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria's Chief Secretary of the Interior, Kalin Georgiev, should be sacked because of the recent series of police brutality cases in Bulgaria, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov believes.
"When I was Chief Secretary, I was responsible for all Interior Ministry operations. Now, I have not heard Kalin Georgiev say a thing," Borisov ponted out in an interview for Nova TV.
... |
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| | Sofia Airport Reports Delays over Heavy Snow |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:03:23 +0200 |
| | The airport authority at Sofia International reports that flights are delayed with about half an hour to an hour over the heavy snow.
Runways are being cleaned round-the-clock and are closed for cleaning for about 35 minutes after each departing and landing aircraft.
Early in the morning flights to the Black Sea city of Burgas and to Brussels were cancelled.
... |
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| | 3 Buildings Collapse in Downtown Rio |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:58:35 +0200 |
| | Three buildings, one of them 20 stories high, collapsed in Rio de Janeiro's center Wednesday evening, with the number of potential victims remaining unclear.
"Three buildings collapsed: a 20-story building, a 10-story building and a smaller building of three or four floors," Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters late Wednesday, updating on earlier information.
"Giving a total number of victims would be pure speculation," he added, as cited by The Times of India.... |
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| | Bulgarian Unveils Major Russian Facebook Scammers |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:25:26 +0200 |
| | Dancho Danchev, a Bulgarian cybercrime researcher has unmasked Koobface, a group of Russian botnet operators that have made an estimated USD 2 M over the past few years.
For three-and-a-half years, Koobface operated as a cybercriminal gang that fooled Facebook users into watching links to YouTube videos that were actually a piece of malware, Deutche Welle has explained.
That malware then infected these computers and made them part of a botnet, a vast network of computers worldwide that can be controlled remotely.... |
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| | Bulgaria Last in EU Media Freedom, Slumps Further |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:17:10 +0200 |
| | Bulgaria has reached the shameful 80th place in the latest Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index.
The Balkan country lags behind all other EU member states in terms of press freedom, according to the Index. Together with Greece (70th) and Italy (61), it has failed to address the issue of its media freedom violations, above all because of a lack of political will.
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| | 14 Bulgarian Districts under Code Orange over Severe Weather |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:44:17 +0200 |
| | Code Orange has been announced in 14 Bulgarian districts due to the ongoing snowfall and the heavy winter conditions in the country.
The road traffic conditions in the districts of Smolyan, Pazardzhik, Shumen, Veliko Tarnovo, Sofia, Penik and Kyustendil remain complicated. The country's Road Infrastructure Agency has received approximately 2000 calls during the night.
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| | Bulgarian-Romanian Border Closed over Harsh Weather |
| | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:13:25 +0200 |
| | The border between Bulgaria and Romania has been closed due to the Code Red weather warning implemented in Romania, Bulgarian Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova has announced.
The heavy snow in Romania has led to the Giugiu-Bucharest road being closed for all vehicles.
All transit traffic from Greece and Turkey via Bulgaria to Romania has also been stopped, Lilyana Pavlova has informed.
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