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Eight people have been hospitalized in Saturday evening's gas explosion in the main street of Veliko Tarnovo. A spokesperson from the local police headquarters has announced that three women and five men have been admitted to the emergency ward of the town's hospital, according to the most recent media reports....

Bulgaria sumo wrestler Kaloyan Mahlyanov-Kotooshu has registered his sixth victory in the Spring Sumo super tournament in Osaka, Japan. Kotooshu removed his rival Kisenosato from the dohyo with a "yoritaoshi" move, and continues his successful start to 2010 with six wins and one defeat, after the end of Round 7. In the next round, he will face the Japanese Tosayutaka, who has had seven losses this year. ...

Bulgaria must give up temporarily its flat rates for income and corporate taxes because of the economic crisis, according to Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov. Mladenov expressed his position in a bTV talk show Saturday night. His idea was immediately met with negative reactions on part of the business sector....

Bulgaria's town of Veliko Tarnovo was rocked on Saturday evening by an explosion, and seven people have been taken to hospital for emergency treatment. The blast has occurred in the town's main street, and is reported as having been caused by a leaking gas tank. The gas spread through the property, and was ignited by a lit grill, according to a local police official....

Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has reiterated his support for his ministerial employees'demands. Tsvetanov said that the most significant issue was demands by police officers that their social resources should not be denied. Speaking on Saturday in a bTV interview, the Interior Minister pointed out that police officers and their union representatives had put the emphasis on material resources that could be provided in the short term to enable them the better to perform their daily duties: newer equipment, more fuel for patrol cars, and an improved physical work environment, for example. ...

Russia's opposition declared Saturday to be a "Day of Anger", calling on citizens across the country to protest against the government of PM Vladimir Putin. Kremlin critics had declared a national day of protest, to mobilize those angry at the government's handling of the worst economic slump in a decade, after recent local elections had showed a drop in support for the ruling party. The rallies began in the eastern city of Vladivostok, where some 1 500 protestors took to the streets. ...

Pope Benedict XVI has published a letter of apology to Irish Catholics, following the revelations of systematic sexual abuse by clerics. The pastoral letter is the first statement of this kind by the Vatican, and refers to "serious mistakes" among bishops in responding to allegations of pedophilia. The letter stated that the Pope was "truly sorry" for the suffering and betrayal of the victims of abuse. ...

Prague's senior manager of energy supplier CEZ has categorically denied speculative reports that the company is considering withdrawing from Bulgaria. "CEZ does not intend to leave Bulgaria," Vladimir Schmalz said flatly, in a statement backed up by spokesperson Eva Novakova, who added that: "Speculation that CEZ is leaving Bulgaria, is not worth discussing". CEZ is among the largest European energy companies, and one of the biggest investors in Bulgaria. ...

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Speaker, Tsetska Tsacheva, has received a delegation of police trade union officials in her office. The union leaders have delivered a letter containing several proposals they wish to discuss. They include claims of lack of effective official dialog, an outdated technical infrastructure, and a lack of administrative reform. ...

Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, will make an official visit to Kuwait on March 24, with the aim of enhancing relations between the two countries. Borisov is scheduled to meet the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to discuss ways of bolstering relations in all possible areas and activities. "The strength of Kuwaiti-Bulgarian diplomatic relations stemmed from the fact that Kuwait was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to open its diplomatic mission in that country back in 1983, and thus the relations are very strong," said a Kuwaiti government official. ...

Some 2 000 Interior Ministry employees have gathered outside the National Theater in central Sofia to register their anti-government protest. They are angry with the anti-crisis measures proposed by the Bulgarian government, which include measures to make civil servants pay their social and health insurances directly out of their pay packets. The proposal, they have pointed out, will, in effect, considerably reduce their regular income. ...

Bulgaria's sea ports and airports will be offered on concession to Qatar and Kuwait, the transport minister has said. Talking to Darik Radio on Saturday, Minister Alexander Tsvetkov said priority will be assigned to the Danube bridge, linking Silistra and Kalarash, the airports at the towns of Plovdiv and Russe and the sea ports at Varna and Burgas. "The ministry's main task will be to prepare quickly the sites for concession....

Greece should be prepared to declare itself insolvent if it cannot repay its debts, a director of the German central bank said in a sign of the hard line against help for heavily indebted EU countries. Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin said that if Greece were unable to finance its debts, "it will have to do what all the indebted do, declare itself insolvent ... that would be the best warning example for other potentially weak states" in Europe. ...

Bulgaria's aspirations to join the euro zone may be rewarded in no less than two decades, according to a leading European analyst. "It is hard to predict the exact timing, but before it joins the euro zone, Bulgaria will have to have obtained compete convergence not only in terms of fiscal requirements, but also in terms of salaries, which should be measurable with the ones in Germany for instance," Daniel Gros, Director of Centre for European Policy Studies, told the Bulgarian National Radio. Gros stressed that though this is not the first time that Bulgaria voices willingness to join ERM II, the waiting room of the eurozone, this time the institutions are once again skeptical about its readiness. ...

Greece must raise some EUR 16 B in debt by the end of May, the head of Greece's PDMA debt agency said in an interview published on Friday. Petros Christodoulou told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily that EUR 23 B of Greek debt fell due in the period April 19 to May 23, but that the Greek government had a positive cash balance of around EUR 7 B at present. "So we don't have to raise EUR 23 B by the end of May, we only have to raise EUR 16 B," Christodoulou told the paper. ...

South Korea was the hero of the first day of the short track speedskating world championships in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, sweeping the gold medals in the men's and women's 1,500-meter races. Yoon-Gy Kwak upgraded his silver medal from last year's Championships in Vienna to a gold in the men's 1500m. Kwak crossed the line in a time of 2:24....

Today's Zaman Turkey and Bulgaria are well-positioned to cooperate, particularly in the energy sphere, and both countries need to make the best of this positive situation, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said on Thursday in a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov, during a two-day visit to Bulgaria. Davuto?lu had several meetings with Bulgarian officials during his visit to Bulgaria upon the invitation of Mladenov....

Bulgaria is the only European Union country, which sends all of the garbage that it churns out to the landfill, according to official Eurostat figures on municipal waste and the way Europeans deal with the trash. The Europeans who produce the most rubbish are the Danes, the Cypriots and the Irish, according to the figures. While rubbish for the average Dane tipped the scales at more than 800 kilos, the Czechs were the least rubbishy, producing a comparatively abstemious 300 kilos or so....

Bulgaria will enter the March solstice hailing the coming of the astronomic springtime on Saturday evening. At 7:32 p.m....

British Airways cabin crew have begun strike action that will cause severe disruption to flights for the next three days. Talks between the airline and the Unite union, which represents the crew, collapsed on Friday. A further four days of action are set to begin on 27 March, although BA has said this weekend's action could disrupt flights into next week as well. ...

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry employees are going to gather at a rally on Sunday to protest against the proposal that civil servants should be obliged to pay their own insurances. They may be joined in the streets that day by tax officials, who share their grievance about insurance payments. Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has stated that his ministry employees will not accept any cut in wages and has vowed to attend the protest himself. ...

Serbia's President Boris Tadic is not going to attend Saturday's EU Summit on the Western Balkans in Slovenia because independent Kosovo will be represented there. This has been announced by the Cabinet of the Serbian head of state. Tadic recently made it clear that he would only attend the summit in Brdo, Slovenia, if Kosovo is represented as a UN protectorate, i....

A total of 35 firms from the region of Serres in Northern Greece have participated in a business delegation to Bulgaria's Sofia. The forum brought together small and medium-sized enterprises from Greece and Bulgaria, including Bulgarian firms with Turkish participation, in order to spur trans-border partnerships and business connections. The majority of the Greek companies from the region of Serres which were representative in Sofia Friday are active in one or several of the following sectors: construction, food, furniture, textile, metal works, car parts. ...

One of Bulgaria's two major ports, Burgas, is going to cut by more than one third its workers in 2010-2011, its CEO Ruslan Petkov has announced. Petkov hosted Friday a meeting between Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev and the local trade unions. Of the 1 360 workers of Port Burgas, 200 will be laid off in 2010, and 360 more - in 2011. ...

A controversy has erupted ahead of the World Chess Title match in Sofia setting against each other Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov and India's Viswanathan Anand. The scandal resulted from an interview of Topalov's manager, Silvio Danailov, for Europe Echecs, in which Danailov reveals that Anand has refused to play the World Chess Title match in Bulgaria according to the "Sofia rules" but will be forced to comply with them anyway because the Bulgarian chess master will be sticking to them. The "Sofia Rules" of chess matches have been introduced by the Mtel Masters tournament in Bulgaria's Sofia....

A scandal has erupted in the City Council of Bulgaria's Plovdiv as several councilors have been caught milking virtual cows on the Facebook application Farmville. The councilors were first detected playing Farmville two weeks ago during the debates for Plovdiv's 2010 budget. The discovery was made by the Chair of the Council, Ilko Iliev, who reacted strongly scolding the eager Internet farmers....

Bulgaria's Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov, has said he is considering offering investors a minority stake in the Maritsa East 3 power plant. Investors could be offered up to 27% of the value of the company, the amount now held by the state. The Minister has previously said the investment could bring in EUR 200 to the national budget. ...

Several Southeast European nations are going to contribute to the establishing of a "Balkan Hospital" in Haiti, Bulgaria's Culture Minister Rashidov announced. The money for the hospital are expected to come up from several regional initiatives but, most of all, from a concert of Balkan performers to take place in Sofia in May 2010, which is the idea of Vezhdi Rashidov himself. Bulgaria's Culture Minister met Friday with a delegation from Montenegro led by his Montenegrin counterpart, Branislav Micunovic. ...

Representatives of some of the world's largest universities are coming to Bulgaria to present their institutions, with Oxford and Cambridge making their debut visit. An expo, "The Begin Education Fair", will take place on Saturday at the Radisson Hotel in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. A number of universities from Bulgaria, Britain, several other European countries and the US will be presented at the event, which is organized by the international Begin Group. ...

The Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania inaugurated Friday the new ferry line connecting Nikopol and Turnu Magurele across the Danube River. During the ceremony he attended together with his Romanian counterpart Emil Boc, Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov, said the two countries intended to realize a number of joint measures to boost bilateral exchange and travel. According to Borisov, Bulgaria and Romania are considering reducing the transit fees for the only existing Danube bridge linking them at Ruse-Giurgiu, and building a joint hydro power plant on the Danube....

The Dutch Ambassador to the US, Renee Jones-Bos, has reacted with anger to the accusation that the UN failed to protect the "safe haven" of Srebrenica, in Bosnia, because some Dutch troops were openly gay. The claim was made by retired US Marine Corps General John Sheehan, at a US Senate hearing. His comments provoked immediate outrage in the Netherlands, where the humiliation in July 1995 of 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers and the subsequent massacre by Serb forces of 8 000 Muslim men and boys, remain a subject of acute national sensitivity. ...

Bulgaria and Greece opened Friday a cross-border Contact Center initiating one-stop border control on their major border crossing point. The Contact Center was inaugurated by Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and the Greek Civil Protection Minister Mihalis Hrisohoidis at the Kulata-Promahonas border crossing. Thus, Bulgarian and Greek policemen will be inspecting together the documents of those crossing from one country into the other by car at Promahonas on Greek territory, and those crossing by train - at Kulata on Bulgarian territory. ...

Bulgaria and Turkey are an international model for good neighborly relations, declared Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Davutoglu, who is on two-day visit to Bulgaria, delivered a lecture at the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. In it, he discussed not just the relations between Bulgaria and Turkey but also the new Turkish foreign policy. ...

Bulgaria's Finance Ministry has decided to cut the amount of food vouchers it circulates to commercial companies, in a reaction to the crisis and in order to maximize budget revenue. The scheme, which has operated for several years, became popular among commercial companies with the introduction in 2007 of tax benefits for employers giving food vouchers to their staff. Vouchers were originally worth BGN 40 per person per month, and in 2009 the amount was raised to BGN 60. ...

The Austrian-owned power utility EVN has been fined BGN 256 000 by the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission. According to Bulgaria's competition watchdog, EVN, which is in charge of electricity distribution in South-central and Southeastern Bulgaria, has imposed "disloyal" commercial conditions in supplying electric power. The company has refused to restore the electricity supply of a property owned by the Nadezhda 94 Ltd firm in Kardzhali because of unpaid bills by the previous owner. ...

Bulgaria plans to give the green light to the 2,000 megawatt Belene nuclear plant on the Danube River and the expansion of Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant simultaneously, the energy and economy minister has announced. "Kozloduy and Belene projects can be developed simultaneously and independently," Traicho Traikov said in parliament on Friday. The statement came in reply to a question by former Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and Traikov's predecessor concerning the new center-right government's plans in the energy sector. ...

The government needs time in order to fulfill its promises, especially in the situation of economic crisis, according to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The PM was awarded Friday by the "I Want a Baby" Foundation on the occasion of the first year since the setting up a state in vitro fund. He is given the prize because his government adopted policies to back the in vitro procedures. ...

Bulgaria's Parliament has voted Friday in favor of changes to the Penal Code, which will include more severe penalties for serious crimes. The murder of a person kidnapped for ransom will be life imprisonment, with no right of appeal, and with forfeiture of all assets held by the offender. The MPs postponed further sanctions related to kidnapping for further consideration at the next meeting of the National Assembly. ...

Bulgaria captain Dimitar Berbatov's Manchester United have been drawn against German giants Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The tie is a mouth watering match up and will evoke memories of United's 1999 dramatic triumph in the final, the BBC reported. Berbatov himself has become a regular starter for United in the past few weeks and is likely to lead the attack for United alongside Wayne Rooney. ...

The Israeli Embassy in Budapest has denied reports the two Israeli Air Force aircraft, which have been detected over Hungary's international airport after passing through Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, were spy planes. "The planes were on a diplomatic mission. Of course, they were not spy planes," Ambassador Alice Bin-Noun said, as cited by the New York Post. ...

Bulgaria's government will be ready with its new package of anti-crisis measures by next week, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov announced. A team of representatives of several of Bulgaria's ministries is going to present the package at the beginning of next week, and will discuss them with the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (i.e....

Bulgaria's ruling center-right GERB party has started to collect MP signatures for the impeachment of Socialist President, Georgi Parvanov. The motives for the demand for impeachment are expected to be announced later on Friday. The move comes on the heels of Parvanov's press conference, dedicated to critics of the cabinet's anti-crisis efforts and to the scandal surrounding his publishing of the transcript of a conversation with Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, without the latter's knowledge. ...

Montenegro's Minister of Culture, Prof Branislav Micunovic, heads a delegation that has arrived in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on a working visit. The Montenegrin party has been invited by the Bulgarian Culture Minister, Vezhdi Rashidov. An agreement for bilateral cultural cooperation is to be signed between the two countries, covering the period between 2010 and the end of 2012. ...

By Krista Bjorn Sun-Star Correspondent Celebrating Bulgarian culture, dance and music is the goal of Saturday's Bulgarian Folk Music Concert-Dance at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center. ...

A Bulgarian lady is standing for election to the regional council of Lazio, Italy. The bilateral "Bulgaria-Italy Association" has reported on its web site that Emilia Bozhinova, an engineer by profession, will be fighting for a place in the council in the election scheduled for March 28 and 29. Bozhinova, who has worked for more than a decade on social projects in Bulgaria, has lived in Italy since 2003, where she is married to an Italian. ...

Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has stated that his ministry employees will not accept any cut in wages. "Tomorrow, I shall attend the protest as the employer of all staff at the Interior Ministry," he pledged on Friday. "There is no way to solve the claims and issues they have, if we differentiate between each other....

Tomislav Donchev, the new minister in Bulgaria's conservative government appointed to speed up the ability to use European Union funds, has set himself the ambitious goal to make his post redundant. "When Bulgaria manages to absorb two-thirds of the European funds, which can not be replaced by any other funding, my post will be useless. This is what I will be trying to do," Donchev commented in the morning broadcast of the state TV channel BNT a day after his appointment. ...

Bulgaria's Customs agency has implemented a "Z Backscatter" mobile X-ray system supplied by American Science and Engineering (AS&E) to inspect cargo trucks and trailers at the country's border crossings. "The highly mobile and versatile ZBV has been successfully used by border officials to perform rapid inspections of vehicles and offers quick and reliable manifest and cargo verification to secure Bulgaria's borders," Robert Postle, AS&E's senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales said, as cited by the online edition of Air Cargo World. Vanyo Tanov, director general of Bulgaria Customs agency added, "Uncovering smuggled items result in increased income in the Bulgarian national budget....

Saturday evening Bulgaria will enter the March solstice hailing the coming of the astronomic springtime. At 7:32 p.m....

The project of the Bulgarian section of the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline project is to be completed by the end of 2011, the head of the company in charge has announced. The final route of the 412-kilometer pipeline section through Bulgaria will be finalized in October or November this year, Krikor Topakbashiyan, head of a directorate at Himcomplekt Engineering, Sofia, said in the town of Pleven. Nabucco would deliver 31 billion cubic meters annually from eastern Turkey to Austria....

Two Israeli Air Force spy planes have been detected over Hungary's international airport after having made their way there via Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, local reports say, The planes were reportedly laden with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, and the mission was connected to the assassination of a Syrian citizen in Hungary on Wednesday. A state official told the media the planes were involved in a "diplomatic mission", and Hungarian Foreign Ministry officials have not released any official statements, apparently unwilling to comment. ...

Italian energy giant Enel is considering the sale of its 73% stake in Maritsa East 3, a coal-fired plant which has a capacity of 908 megawatts, the company executive director has confirmed. "We are not happy with the Bulgarian market and that's the reason for our decision. I believe that Martisa East 3 will be much more efficient if managed by an integrated player, who has already stepped in Bulgaria....

A new ferry line connecting Bulgaria and Romania across the Danube River will be put into operations on Friday. The ferry boat complex connecting Bulgaria's town of Nikopol and Romania's Turnu Magurele will be officially launched by the prime ministers of Bulgaria and Romania Boyko Borisov and Emil Boc. The distance between the two ferry stations is 800 m....

Property Abroad News According to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the Bulgarian economy is still most certainly heading downwards, but there are some signs of hope on the horizon. Eurostat figures show that Bulgarian GDP shrank a further 6....

A cross-border Contact Center, a pioneer service of the police forces of Greece and Bulgaria, will be inaugurated on Friday at the Promahonas border station in Serres, opposite the Kulata border station on the Bulgarian side. The inter-state cross-border agreement for the establishment of a joint Contact Center with shared facilities on the Greek side of the border for a "one-stop border control" was signed in April 2008 by then deputy interior minister Panayiotis Hinofotis with then Bulgarian interior minister Mihail Mikov in Sofia. This happened at the meeting of SEECP justice and internal affairs ministers, aimed at the creation of a joint contact center for the coordination of crime-fighting actions and the conduction of joint border controls....

Bulgaria President Georgi Parvanov has welcomed the amendments to the GMO Act adopted by Parliament on Thursday, which in effect ban the cultivation of GM crops in the country. "Under the pressure of numerous civil protests and as a result of the my expressed position to veto any non stringent amendments and to call for a referendum, ultimately, it was a reasonable decision," said Parvanov. He added; "At this stage Bulgaria has managed to keep clear of GM crops and has created conditions for the development of organic farming....

Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has revealed that prosecutors are already studying the project of the hydroelectric power plant - 'Tsankov Kamak'. Borisov, speaking at the site of the project, said "we have already approached the prosecutor's office regarding 'Tsankov Kamak', but I bought along the Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov to make the necessary investigations." ...

From Financial Times (ft.com) By Neil MacDonald, Kerin Hope and Chris Bryant ...

Bulgaria's unemployment rate has exceeded the threshold of 10%, which employers and economists consider to be a sign of an upcoming deterioration in the purchasing power and the labor market. The jobless rate stood at 10,26% in February with the total number of people who are unemployed towering to 380 244, up by 13,000 over the previous month, data of the Employment Agency shows. Nearly 40% of the people, who were laid off in February, worked in the industry or trade sectors....

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there has been "substantial" progress on a new nuclear disarmament deal with Russia. On her visit to Moscow Clinton said that she believed a final agreement on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) would come soon, the BBC reported. The nations are trying to replace the 1991 START that expired in December. ...

Bulgaria Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, has stated that the Nabucco natural gas pipeline is the priority project regarding bilateral ties with Turkey. Mladenov was speaking after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday in Sofia. Davutoglu also stressed the importance of the Nabucco project and said that it had always "stood first". ...

Sofia City Court has sentenced the former director of the Bulgarian State Agriculture Fund and the SAPARD Agency Assen Drumev to four years in jail. Drumev has also been banned to occupy high-level posts for a period of seven years. He is also to pay BGN 5,000 in expenditures. ...

Scream star Rose McGowan has become the last member of Conan's primary cast, which started filming in Bulgaria on Monday. McGowan is perhaps best known for her roles in "Scream", "Planet Terror" and "Charmed". In 2008, McGowan was signed to star in "Red Sonja" — another creation of Robert E....

The European Commission opened Thursday legal actions against Bulgaria for construction in protected coastal areas and for non-adherence to maximum admissible levels of sulfur dioxide in the air. Bulgaria has already been warned over irregular construction in areas near the Black Sea, which fall under the protection of NATURA 2000. The EC established that between January 2007 and October 2009, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Waters in the Black Sea city of Varna had issued over 327 building permits without making adequate assessment of their influence on the environment. ...

From Manchester Evening News (manchestereveningnews.co.uk) ...

Judge Tsoni Tsonev, Head of the Ethics Commission of Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) informed Thursday that the case "Panayot Genkov" has not been closed yet. VSS have called Angel Hristov, one of the two notorious Galevi Brothers, to appear before them on Monday. If Hristov does not comply, the magistrates will request a police escort to bring him. ...

The average salary of women in Bulgaria is currently 15,7% lower than that of men according to a Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Unions (KNSB) report. The KNSB report published Thursday at a conference for gender equality also stated that women are the majority of the unemployed in Bulgaria and often become victims of human trafficking. It added that there is currently a "feminization of poverty" occurring in the country. ...

Italian energy giant Enel is considering the sale of its 73% stake in Maritsa East 3, a coal-fired plant which has a capacity of 908 megawatts, the company executive director has announced. A rival company has already expressed interest in the sale, Fulvio Conti said in London, where he presented the financial results of the group for 2009 and its business plan for the next five years. A year ago Enel increased the capacity of Maritsa East Three plant to 908 megawatts, up from 840 MW, and also put new desulphurisation installations on the plant's four units. ...

The Prosecutor's office submitted Thursday to the Sofia City Court official charges against alleged crime boss Zlatomir Ivanov aka Zlatko Baretata (The Barret) and 20 other defendants. Baretata is charged as the ringleader of an organized crime group dealing with illegal drug trafficking and with first-degree murder for the killing of Stefan Ivanov aka Alf, committed in a way that endangered the life of many people. Baretata is charged as the instigator of the murder while Martin Dimitrov is charged as an accomplice....

Bulgaria's government has refused to heed calls for selling on the stock exchange shares in companies, which are part of the Bulgarian Energy Holding. "We are not planning for the time being to list energy companies from the Bulgarian Energy Holding on the bourse," Deputy Economy and Energy Minister Maya Hristova announced. In her words the government plans to privatize the remaining shares of energy companies, in which the state holds a minority share. ...

Over 100 workers in a paper plant in Bulgaria's town of Kostenets have declared hunger strike over an optimization plan of the management. The specific reason for the strike is the intention of "Paper and Paper Products - Kostenets" Jsc to lay off 24 workers without any compensations, according to a statement of the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates (KNSB). The trade union points out that it has not been informed by the management of the factory about its intentions....

Bulgaria has weak chances for joining the bloc's exchange-rate mechanism, the so-called eurozone waiting room, and making this top priority dooms it to a recession, a German analyst has commented. "The Bulgarian government now is trying to up the pressure so that the country is acceded to ERM II. It is questionable whether this is a productive tactics, bearing in mind that a number of EU member states have good reasons to be cautious about Bulgaria....

Up to 25 000 people died in the Allied bombing of Dresden during World War II, fewer than often estimated, an official German report has concluded. The Dresden Historians' Commission published its report after five years of research into the 13-15 February 1945 air raid by Britain and the US. The study was aimed at ending an ongoing debate on the number of casualties in the German city, the BBC reported. ...

The Interior Minister of the German Province of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, advised Bulgaria to carry out urgent reforms in the Penal Code. Herrmann, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria Thursday, spoke during a meeting with his counterpart, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, pointing out verdicts in Bavaria are much harsher. The Bavarian Interior Minister gave high marks to the efforts of the new cabinet to fight corruption and organized crime, and to the bi-lateral cooperation with Bulgaria....

The Bulgarian Parliament has passed amendments to the GMO Act which mean that GM crops will not be allowed to be grown in the country. After a number of days of debate Bulgaria's MPs finally passed the strongest possible amendments which although they do not include a total ban on GM crops, make it impossible for farmers to grow them commercially or in trials. Bulgaria has thus become the first country in Europe to introduce such stringent laws for all forms of GM crops. ...

South African team Mamelodi Sundowns plans to impose a fine on its former coach, legendary Bulgarian footballer Hristo Stoichkov, if he fails to prove allegations of corruption in the country's football federation. "Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club is committed to good relations and to cooperate with SAFA, the PSL and other Stakeholders of football in South Africa. Depending on the outcome of the Premier Soccer League disciplinary proceedings against Hristo Stoichkov, Sundowns may take further appropriate action," reads an official statement on the site of the club. ...

The proclaimed independence of Bulgaria's judicial system provides political cover for abuses, said Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Earlier on Thursday Tsvetanov was criticized by the Chair of the Supreme Administrative Court, Konstantin Penchev, for his statement that the Supreme Judicial Council - the institution which monitors and controls Bulgaria's judiciary - had too many members (25 members at present). Judge Penchev said only the convention of a Grand National Assembly could lead to changing the number of member of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS). ...

The Head of the Sofia Police Directorate, Valeri Yordanov, informed Thursday that 11 000 crimes or 33% of all crimes were solved in 2009. Sofia registered 32 029 crimes during the past year which is 7% higher than 2008. The most frequent crime is larceny....

Italy's Trentino BetClic, led by Bulgarian Radostin Stoychev and including two Bulgarian players, is on top of the charts again after wining the regular season in A1. Trentino couldn't have hoped for a better last home game as it swept Treviso 3:0 and secured top spot in the regular season. Thanks to this win, Trentino remained unbeaten at home in the league and became champions of the regular season for the third time. ...

Bulgaria's Deputy Foreign Minister, Valeri Mitrev, says that the BGN 1,2 B for the country's health care will be enough to significantly up salaries in the sector. Mitrev informed that according to preliminary calculations doctors will have a starting salary of EUR 1 100 and nurses of EUR 400, under the condition medical facilities are restructured and public tenders are carried out without violations. The new salaries will not be based on the number of examined patients, but will be rather paid through delegated budgets. ...

A system of merit-based pay is needed for the Bulgarian administrators working on EU projects, according to Bulgaria's newly-appointed EU Funds Minister, Tomislav Donchev. Donchev was confirmed by Parliament Thursday as a Minister in charge of the coordination of EU funds absorption. He is going to be in command of several small government directorates rather than a full-fledged ministry....

The European Commission is expected next week to propose rules on divorce that would initially apply in only ten member states of the European Union, including Bulgaria, the online edition European Voice reported. The Commission's proposal would provide domestic courts in the ten countries with criteria to determine which national law should apply in international divorce cases. It would affect couples of different nationalities, living apart in different countries, or living together in a country other than their home country. ...

Bulgaria's conservative Order, Law, and Justice (RZS) party is submitting with the Parliament Thursday an official declaration asking that Bulgaria condemns the Armenian genocide committed by Turkey. The declaration is in connection with the Thursday visit of Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, to Bulgaria and statements of Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan that the country is prepared to extradite 100 000 Armenians. RZS is also requesting an official answer from Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, about the policy of the cabinet regarding the Armenian genocide during World War I. ...

Factors whose interests are being affected by the actions of the Cabinet are engaging an anti-government plot, according to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Borisov commented Thursday on the scandal with the "leaked" anti-crisis measures allegedly prepared by the Finance Ministry which outraged the Bulgarian society. The "measures" including cutting in half the paid maternity leave, and taxing retirement pensions before the deduction of social security payments were provided to the media on Wednesday by syndicates....

Greece may seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund over the April 2-4 Easter weekend due to little hope for aid from the European Union. A senior Greek official told Dow Jones Newswires that the prospect of help from the European Union "doesn't look good" and that IMF help would be a prominent scenario if EU help is not forthcoming. Meanwhile Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou warned on Thursday that Athens would not be able to make planned deficit cuts unless it can borrow money more cheaply and said he would prefer not to have to turn to the IMF for help. ...

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will air again the video clip titled "If You Vote for Boyko You Will Get Kostov." The campaign will be the opposition's response to the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party anti-crisis measures. ...

Tomislav Donchev, currently Mayor of the city of Gabrovo in Central Bulgaria, has been approved as Bulgaria's Minister of EU Funds Absorption. Donchev was born in Gabrovo in 1973. In 1991, he graduated from the mathematics high school in Gabrovo. ...

Bulgaria's Parliament approved Thursday the appointment of Tomislav Donchev as Minister for the management of EU funds. Donchev, who is the current Mayor of the city of Gabrovo was approved with 130 votes in favor, 56 votes against, and 7 abstaining. More information about Tomislav Donchev READ HERE ...

The parliamentary group of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) had withdrawn their project to impose a 5-year ban on growing GMO on Bulgarian soil. In the beginning of February GERB announced they would pass the amendments in the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act, but will request a moratorium for 5 years, meaning the experimental growing of GMO on open land plots would begin in 2015. Last week the GMO Act was discussed simultaneously by the MPs from the Parliamentary Environment Committee and in plenary hall. ...

Bulgaria's tax revenue in the first two months of 2010 was BGN 600 M smaller than in the same period of 2009, announced the National Revenue Agency head, Krasimir Stefanov. Stefanov has pointed out that the plummeting tax revenue is the result of the deepening economic crisis. Speaking on the bTV channel Thursday, Stefanov said that the declared tax base in January and February of 2010 was BGN 4 B smaller than it was in the same period of the previous year. ...

Bulgaria's capital Sofia is freezing the planned construction of overpasses despite the availability of EUR 45 M loan from the European Investment Bank. The money was supposed to be used for six overpasses at key crossroads around Sofia in order to alleviate the situation with the congested traffic in the city. The official explanation of the Sofia Municipality for putting the projects on hold is the work on the construction of the second metro line and the ongoing rehabilitation projects....

The Borisov government has adopted "pro-crisis" rather than "anti-crisis" measures, Bulgaria's former Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski believes. Speaking on the Bulgarian National Television Thursday, Oresharski criticized the Cabinet of Boyko Borisov for coming up with inadequate policies. "The only anti-crisis measure I know is the increasing of public investments," said Oresharski who was the Finance Minister in the Stanishev government (2005-2009). ...

The breaking off and sale of rock formations from karst caves has become a new illegal trade in Bulgaria. It has become fashionable to use the karst rocks to decorate the interior of villas, hotels, and restaurants of wealthy owners, announced Aleksey Stoev, member of the board of the Bulgarian Tourism Union. Stoev has explained that the Union and the Bulgarian Speleology Federation insist on a new law specially designed to protect the caves....

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has been enraged by the publication of what were alleged to be draft anti-crisis measures prepared by the government, according to the Trud Daily. The measures - which included cutting the paid maternity leave in half and taxing retirement pensions and salaries before social security payments had been deducted - were provided to the media by syndicates on Wednesday, and caused a wave of outrage in all strata of society. Later on Wednesday, the press service of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers issued a statement saying that a number of measures are being discussed by the government but not the ones which have "leaked". ...

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, is arriving on an official two-day visit to Bulgaria Thursday. Davutoglu has been invited by his Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov. In addition to meeting with Mladenov, on Friday the Turkish Foreign Minister will be received by Bulgaria's President, Prime Minister, and Parliament Chair. ...

Business

Bulgaria must give up temporarily its flat rates for income and corporate taxes because of the economic crisis, according to Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov. Mladenov expressed his position in a bTV talk show Saturday night. His idea was immediately met with negative reactions on part of the business sector....

Prague's senior manager of energy supplier CEZ has categorically denied speculative reports that the company is considering withdrawing from Bulgaria. "CEZ does not intend to leave Bulgaria," Vladimir Schmalz said flatly, in a statement backed up by spokesperson Eva Novakova, who added that: "Speculation that CEZ is leaving Bulgaria, is not worth discussing". CEZ is among the largest European energy companies, and one of the biggest investors in Bulgaria. ...

Bulgaria's sea ports and airports will be offered on concession to Qatar and Kuwait, the transport minister has said. Talking to Darik Radio on Saturday, Minister Alexander Tsvetkov said priority will be assigned to the Danube bridge, linking Silistra and Kalarash, the airports at the towns of Plovdiv and Russe and the sea ports at Varna and Burgas. "The ministry's main task will be to prepare quickly the sites for concession....

Greece should be prepared to declare itself insolvent if it cannot repay its debts, a director of the German central bank said in a sign of the hard line against help for heavily indebted EU countries. Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin said that if Greece were unable to finance its debts, "it will have to do what all the indebted do, declare itself insolvent ... that would be the best warning example for other potentially weak states" in Europe. ...

Bulgaria's aspirations to join the euro zone may be rewarded in no less than two decades, according to a leading European analyst. "It is hard to predict the exact timing, but before it joins the euro zone, Bulgaria will have to have obtained compete convergence not only in terms of fiscal requirements, but also in terms of salaries, which should be measurable with the ones in Germany for instance," Daniel Gros, Director of Centre for European Policy Studies, told the Bulgarian National Radio. Gros stressed that though this is not the first time that Bulgaria voices willingness to join ERM II, the waiting room of the eurozone, this time the institutions are once again skeptical about its readiness. ...

Greece must raise some EUR 16 B in debt by the end of May, the head of Greece's PDMA debt agency said in an interview published on Friday. Petros Christodoulou told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily that EUR 23 B of Greek debt fell due in the period April 19 to May 23, but that the Greek government had a positive cash balance of around EUR 7 B at present. "So we don't have to raise EUR 23 B by the end of May, we only have to raise EUR 16 B," Christodoulou told the paper. ...

South Korea was the hero of the first day of the short track speedskating world championships in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, sweeping the gold medals in the men's and women's 1,500-meter races. Yoon-Gy Kwak upgraded his silver medal from last year's Championships in Vienna to a gold in the men's 1500m. Kwak crossed the line in a time of 2:24....

A total of 35 firms from the region of Serres in Northern Greece have participated in a business delegation to Bulgaria's Sofia. The forum brought together small and medium-sized enterprises from Greece and Bulgaria, including Bulgarian firms with Turkish participation, in order to spur trans-border partnerships and business connections. The majority of the Greek companies from the region of Serres which were representative in Sofia Friday are active in one or several of the following sectors: construction, food, furniture, textile, metal works, car parts. ...

One of Bulgaria's two major ports, Burgas, is going to cut by more than one third its workers in 2010-2011, its CEO Ruslan Petkov has announced. Petkov hosted Friday a meeting between Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev and the local trade unions. Of the 1 360 workers of Port Burgas, 200 will be laid off in 2010, and 360 more - in 2011. ...

Bulgaria's Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov, has said he is considering offering investors a minority stake in the Maritsa East 3 power plant. Investors could be offered up to 27% of the value of the company, the amount now held by the state. The Minister has previously said the investment could bring in EUR 200 to the national budget. ...

Politics

Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has reiterated his support for his ministerial employees'demands. Tsvetanov said that the most significant issue was demands by police officers that their social resources should not be denied. Speaking on Saturday in a bTV interview, the Interior Minister pointed out that police officers and their union representatives had put the emphasis on material resources that could be provided in the short term to enable them the better to perform their daily duties: newer equipment, more fuel for patrol cars, and an improved physical work environment, for example. ...

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Speaker, Tsetska Tsacheva, has received a delegation of police trade union officials in her office. The union leaders have delivered a letter containing several proposals they wish to discuss. They include claims of lack of effective official dialog, an outdated technical infrastructure, and a lack of administrative reform. ...

Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, will make an official visit to Kuwait on March 24, with the aim of enhancing relations between the two countries. Borisov is scheduled to meet the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to discuss ways of bolstering relations in all possible areas and activities. "The strength of Kuwaiti-Bulgarian diplomatic relations stemmed from the fact that Kuwait was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to open its diplomatic mission in that country back in 1983, and thus the relations are very strong," said a Kuwaiti government official. ...

Some 2 000 Interior Ministry employees have gathered outside the National Theater in central Sofia to register their anti-government protest. They are angry with the anti-crisis measures proposed by the Bulgarian government, which include measures to make civil servants pay their social and health insurances directly out of their pay packets. The proposal, they have pointed out, will, in effect, considerably reduce their regular income. ...

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry employees are going to gather at a rally on Sunday to protest against the proposal that civil servants should be obliged to pay their own insurances. They may be joined in the streets that day by tax officials, who share their grievance about insurance payments. Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has stated that his ministry employees will not accept any cut in wages and has vowed to attend the protest himself. ...

Serbia's President Boris Tadic is not going to attend Saturday's EU Summit on the Western Balkans in Slovenia because independent Kosovo will be represented there. This has been announced by the Cabinet of the Serbian head of state. Tadic recently made it clear that he would only attend the summit in Brdo, Slovenia, if Kosovo is represented as a UN protectorate, i....

Several Southeast European nations are going to contribute to the establishing of a "Balkan Hospital" in Haiti, Bulgaria's Culture Minister Rashidov announced. The money for the hospital are expected to come up from several regional initiatives but, most of all, from a concert of Balkan performers to take place in Sofia in May 2010, which is the idea of Vezhdi Rashidov himself. Bulgaria's Culture Minister met Friday with a delegation from Montenegro led by his Montenegrin counterpart, Branislav Micunovic. ...

Bulgaria and Greece opened Friday a cross-border Contact Center initiating one-stop border control on their major border crossing point. The Contact Center was inaugurated by Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and the Greek Civil Protection Minister Mihalis Hrisohoidis at the Kulata-Promahonas border crossing. Thus, Bulgarian and Greek policemen will be inspecting together the documents of those crossing from one country into the other by car at Promahonas on Greek territory, and those crossing by train - at Kulata on Bulgarian territory. ...

Bulgaria and Turkey are an international model for good neighborly relations, declared Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Davutoglu, who is on two-day visit to Bulgaria, delivered a lecture at the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. In it, he discussed not just the relations between Bulgaria and Turkey but also the new Turkish foreign policy. ...

The government needs time in order to fulfill its promises, especially in the situation of economic crisis, according to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The PM was awarded Friday by the "I Want a Baby" Foundation on the occasion of the first year since the setting up a state in vitro fund. He is given the prize because his government adopted policies to back the in vitro procedures. ...

Bulgaria in EU

Serbia's President Boris Tadic is not going to attend Saturday's EU Summit on the Western Balkans in Slovenia because independent Kosovo will be represented there. This has been announced by the Cabinet of the Serbian head of state. Tadic recently made it clear that he would only attend the summit in Brdo, Slovenia, if Kosovo is represented as a UN protectorate, i....

Tomislav Donchev, the new minister in Bulgaria's conservative government appointed to speed up the ability to use European Union funds, has set himself the ambitious goal to make his post redundant. "When Bulgaria manages to absorb two-thirds of the European funds, which can not be replaced by any other funding, my post will be useless. This is what I will be trying to do," Donchev commented in the morning broadcast of the state TV channel BNT a day after his appointment. ...

The European Commission opened Thursday legal actions against Bulgaria for construction in protected coastal areas and for non-adherence to maximum admissible levels of sulfur dioxide in the air. Bulgaria has already been warned over irregular construction in areas near the Black Sea, which fall under the protection of NATURA 2000. The EC established that between January 2007 and October 2009, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Waters in the Black Sea city of Varna had issued over 327 building permits without making adequate assessment of their influence on the environment. ...

A system of merit-based pay is needed for the Bulgarian administrators working on EU projects, according to Bulgaria's newly-appointed EU Funds Minister, Tomislav Donchev. Donchev was confirmed by Parliament Thursday as a Minister in charge of the coordination of EU funds absorption. He is going to be in command of several small government directorates rather than a full-fledged ministry....

Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry is preparing a list of up to 20 diplomats to propose as members of the new European External Action Service. All EU member states are to submit their candidates to the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Catherine Ashton. Bulgaria hopes to impress the High Representative with its nominations and to receive some prestigious diplomatic positions. ...

Bulgaria's Ministry of Agriculture has received a letter from the European Commission notifying about a sanction of the amount of BGN over 49 M that the country must pay. The fine has been triggered by violations committed by the Ministry in direct payments to farmers in 2008. The violations stem from overlapping of declared land plots and the procedure for the selection of a contractor to create an aerial photograph map of farming lands in Bulgaria. ...

In January 2010, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector fell by 2.2% in the Eurozone and by 2.0% the EU area, compared with the previous month. ...

The reforms of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party managed to reinstate European trust in Bulgaria, according to Wilfred Martens, President of European People's Party (EPP). Martens is in Sofia Wednesday to participate in the international conference devoted to Bulgaria's best practices to combat corruption. The EPP President said that his statement is based on the fact the European Commission has released millions in EU funds that were previously blocked for Bulgaria, and on the stark change of the general attitude towards the country across Europe. ...

Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, has asked the leadership of the European People's Party to lobby in Brussels for the allocation of EU funds. This was announced by Borisov himself Tuesday night during a news conference together with the Chair of the EPP Wilfried Martens and the Secretary-General of the EPP Antonio Lopez. Borisov has commented that his GERB party has received solidarity and support from the EPP....

The European People's Party has no criticism for the Bulgarian government of PM Boyko Borisov, according to its Chair, Wilfried Martens. Martens was in Sofia Tuesday night for the presentation of his book, "Europe: I Struggle, I Overcome". "After eight years of liberal and socialist experiments, Bulgaria finally has a strong and reliable government....

Lifestyle

Eight people have been hospitalized in Saturday evening's gas explosion in the main street of Veliko Tarnovo. A spokesperson from the local police headquarters has announced that three women and five men have been admitted to the emergency ward of the town's hospital, according to the most recent media reports....

Bulgaria's town of Veliko Tarnovo was rocked on Saturday evening by an explosion, and seven people have been taken to hospital for emergency treatment. The blast has occurred in the town's main street, and is reported as having been caused by a leaking gas tank. The gas spread through the property, and was ignited by a lit grill, according to a local police official....

Bulgaria is the only European Union country, which sends all of the garbage that it churns out to the landfill, according to official Eurostat figures on municipal waste and the way Europeans deal with the trash. The Europeans who produce the most rubbish are the Danes, the Cypriots and the Irish, according to the figures. While rubbish for the average Dane tipped the scales at more than 800 kilos, the Czechs were the least rubbishy, producing a comparatively abstemious 300 kilos or so....

Bulgaria will enter the March solstice hailing the coming of the astronomic springtime on Saturday evening. At 7:32 p.m....

A scandal has erupted in the City Council of Bulgaria's Plovdiv as several councilors have been caught milking virtual cows on the Facebook application Farmville. The councilors were first detected playing Farmville two weeks ago during the debates for Plovdiv's 2010 budget. The discovery was made by the Chair of the Council, Ilko Iliev, who reacted strongly scolding the eager Internet farmers....

Representatives of some of the world's largest universities are coming to Bulgaria to present their institutions, with Oxford and Cambridge making their debut visit. An expo, "The Begin Education Fair", will take place on Saturday at the Radisson Hotel in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. A number of universities from Bulgaria, Britain, several other European countries and the US will be presented at the event, which is organized by the international Begin Group. ...

Montenegro's Minister of Culture, Prof Branislav Micunovic, heads a delegation that has arrived in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on a working visit. The Montenegrin party has been invited by the Bulgarian Culture Minister, Vezhdi Rashidov. An agreement for bilateral cultural cooperation is to be signed between the two countries, covering the period between 2010 and the end of 2012. ...

A Bulgarian lady is standing for election to the regional council of Lazio, Italy. The bilateral "Bulgaria-Italy Association" has reported on its web site that Emilia Bozhinova, an engineer by profession, will be fighting for a place in the council in the election scheduled for March 28 and 29. Bozhinova, who has worked for more than a decade on social projects in Bulgaria, has lived in Italy since 2003, where she is married to an Italian. ...

Saturday evening Bulgaria will enter the March solstice hailing the coming of the astronomic springtime. At 7:32 p.m....

Bulgaria's unemployment rate has exceeded the threshold of 10%, which employers and economists consider to be a sign of an upcoming deterioration in the purchasing power and the labor market. The jobless rate stood at 10,26% in February with the total number of people who are unemployed towering to 380 244, up by 13,000 over the previous month, data of the Employment Agency shows. Nearly 40% of the people, who were laid off in February, worked in the industry or trade sectors....

Sports

Bulgaria sumo wrestler Kaloyan Mahlyanov-Kotooshu has registered his sixth victory in the Spring Sumo super tournament in Osaka, Japan. Kotooshu removed his rival Kisenosato from the dohyo with a "yoritaoshi" move, and continues his successful start to 2010 with six wins and one defeat, after the end of Round 7. In the next round, he will face the Japanese Tosayutaka, who has had seven losses this year. ...

A controversy has erupted ahead of the World Chess Title match in Sofia setting against each other Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov and India's Viswanathan Anand. The scandal resulted from an interview of Topalov's manager, Silvio Danailov, for Europe Echecs, in which Danailov reveals that Anand has refused to play the World Chess Title match in Bulgaria according to the "Sofia rules" but will be forced to comply with them anyway because the Bulgarian chess master will be sticking to them. The "Sofia Rules" of chess matches have been introduced by the Mtel Masters tournament in Bulgaria's Sofia....

Bulgaria captain Dimitar Berbatov's Manchester United have been drawn against German giants Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The tie is a mouth watering match up and will evoke memories of United's 1999 dramatic triumph in the final, the BBC reported. Berbatov himself has become a regular starter for United in the past few weeks and is likely to lead the attack for United alongside Wayne Rooney. ...

South African team Mamelodi Sundowns plans to impose a fine on its former coach, legendary Bulgarian footballer Hristo Stoichkov, if he fails to prove allegations of corruption in the country's football federation. "Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club is committed to good relations and to cooperate with SAFA, the PSL and other Stakeholders of football in South Africa. Depending on the outcome of the Premier Soccer League disciplinary proceedings against Hristo Stoichkov, Sundowns may take further appropriate action," reads an official statement on the site of the club. ...

Italy's Trentino BetClic, led by Bulgarian Radostin Stoychev and including two Bulgarian players, is on top of the charts again after wining the regular season in A1. Trentino couldn't have hoped for a better last home game as it swept Treviso 3:0 and secured top spot in the regular season. Thanks to this win, Trentino remained unbeaten at home in the league and became champions of the regular season for the third time. ...

Legendary Bulgarian footballer Hristo Stoichkov has resigned as the coach of South African team Mamelodi Sundowns. Stoichkov is leaving offended because the team did not offer him an extension of his contract, according to South African media. The 44-year-old Bulgarian coach took over Mamelodi Sundowns in July 2009, and led the team to the second position in the South African championship. ...

Bulgaria soccer star Dimitar Berbatov has written in his new blog how much he appreciates the support of his fans, and how proud he is when they enjoy his success. The Bulgarian national tem captain caused controversy only a week ago, when he published his first blog entry, entitled "Haters". Now, he has explained that the entries are part of a trilogy, with the second piece entitled "Friends and Supporters". ...

Bulgaria's Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures will be decided by a random draw after the nations in Group G failed to agree on acceptable dates. At a near five-hour meeting England, Wales, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Switzerland failed to reach an agreement. "We were close to achieving the most important principles of our strategy for the program....

Bulgaria captain and Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov has backed the Red Devils to take the English Premiership title. Berbatov, speaking after scoring in United's 3:0 thumping of Fulham on Sunday, said that "there can only be one winner and I think it is going to be us." ...

Manchester United have defeated 3:0 Fulham eight rounds before the end of England's Premier League. After missing several opportunities throughout the match, Bulgaria's striker Dimitar Berbatov scored the third goal in the 89th minute by heading the ball. This is his tenth goal with United for the season. ...