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09:36 Tue 06 Jan 2009
As of 3.30am on January 6 2009 the supply of Russian natural gas to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Macedonia has been halted, Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy said on January 6 2009. This leaves Bulgarian entirely dependent on its natural gas reserves in the village of read more
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18:39 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Local firm under investigation for suspected laundering of money from Russian mafia
Sofia prosecutor's office is investigating an alleged money laundry channel involving the circulation of one billion euro flowing from Russia through Bulgaria and Estonia, Agence France Presse (AFP) said on January 5 2009, quoted by Bulgarian-language media. read more
 
 
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12:50 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Two-time world champion ice skater Maxim Staviski will have to serve his two-and-a-half year sentence in jail, the Bourgas Appellative Court has ruled, Bulgarian news agency Focus said on January 5 2009. read more
 
18:16 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Minyor mine faces liquidation over dwindling demand
More than 250 miners from the Minyor coal mine, west of Sofia, have gone on a 30-day unpaid leave as of January 5. Moreover, the Pernik-based quarry company will go into administration and ultimately close, as there has been a severe decline in demand, according to company read more
 
 
 
18:02 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Sofia city hall inspectors have issued more than 1400 fines of 20 leva each to owners of houses and offices and apartments in residential blocks for failing to clean the snow around entrances to their buildings, private national broadcaster Darik radio said on January 5 2009. read more
 
17:52 Mon 05 Jan 2009
All candidates for driving licences in Bulgaria will have to watch a documentary film showing the tragic fate of several people involved in road accidents. One of the people featured in the film died as a result of a crash while another is serving a jail term for causing read more
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BNB Fixing 05 Jan 2008
EUR1.3866USD
EUR0.7304GBP
EUR1.95583BGN
USD1.41052BGN
GBP2.0352BGN
 
 
 
 
 
Weekly news
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: The domestic frontFrozen EU funds, corruption scandals, few arrests and cabinet reshuffles dominated 2008 Petar Kostadinov
YEAR IN REVIEW: The domestic front
Bulgarians had almost everything under the sun thrown at them in 2008. The year started with high hopes that the country would finally benefit from its long-awaited European Union membership. This was supposed to be a calm period ahead of the 2009 parliamentary elections. read more
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: Bulgar-bashingBulgaria’s loss of EU funds was accompanied by a series of negative articles highlighting corruption and crimeGabriel Hershman
YEAR IN REVIEW: Bulgar-bashing
The year 2008 may well go down as the zenith of Bulgar-bashing in foreign media. The British press maintained a relentless barrage of criticism about Bulgaria’s poor record on crime, corruption and its failure to abide by EU stipulations. Even the case of Michael Shields, the read more
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: From Ken Lee to Red-bgFun and faltering online in BulgariaRene Beekman
YEAR IN REVIEW: From Ken Lee to Red-bg
When it comes to internet use, Bulgaria might still be far behind the rest of the European Union in terms of connectivity, broadband availability and the use of online shopping, but it is in a class of its own in the fun and faltering categories that define hit or miss, famous read more
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: The more things change…Clive Leviev-Sawyer
YEAR IN REVIEW: The more things change…
Countries around the region wrestled with long-standing disputes, traumatic changes, organised crime and corruption, the impact of the global economic crisis, dismissals and resignations of cabinet ministers – and wrestled with each read more
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: The year Bulgarians said ‘no’Though environmental awareness has entered the realms of ‘trend’, people are starting to realise that ‘the nature’ is not going to remain unless something is done about all the illegal constructionMagdalena Rahn
YEAR IN REVIEW: The year Bulgarians said ‘no’
It is not unlikely that, after spending a day skiing the illegal slopes of Bansko, or taking advantage of the new, illegal cabin lift at Bodrost/Kartala, you enter into the ski lodge and pick up a free copy of Passport Scotch’s slick The Environment and read about local read more
 
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: Health checkReal estate and tourism in recent years have steadily pumped cash into the Bulgarian economy. Do they still?Alex Bivol
YEAR IN REVIEW: Health check
For many people, 2008 was the year that the property balloon burst, but that is not strictly true. Despite the US sub-prime mortgage crisis spreading to other developed nations, property prices in Bulgaria displayed a steady increase in the first half of the year, albeit not at read more
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: One last hurrah for the economyThe end of the era of cheap credit has already been felt by the Bulgarian economy in 2008, but the worst is still to comeAlex Bivol
YEAR IN REVIEW: One last hurrah for the economy
A year is a long time when business plans can be turned on their head in a matter of months. Despite some praise from the World Bank in its Doing Business survey, Bulgaria is yet to join the ranks of the predictable economies, yet in 2008 investors continued flocking to the read more
 
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: And the winner is...In a spirit of showmanship, The Sofia Echo tallies up the cultural happenings of 2008Magdalena Rahn
YEAR IN REVIEW: And the winner is...
MC: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thank you for turning to this page of The Sofia Echo’s Year in Review. On it, you will experience flashing lights, celebrity misadventures, wardrobes of costume, scandalous art and humbling read more
 
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: Lost expectationsOld generations continue defending Bulgaria’s sport glory Petar Kostadinov
YEAR IN REVIEW: Lost expectations
Just as the labour market has been constantly ruing the lack of qualified people in 2008, Bulgarian sport showed, with a few exceptions that it is still the “old guard” that has to defend the country’s sporting fame. read more
 
 
YEAR IN REVIEW: Eat wellcompiled by Magdalena Rahn
YEAR IN REVIEW: Eat well
Our own selection of five restaurants, in no particular order, where our taste buds were wowed in 2008: Kring Health Food Restaurant, Brasserie, Osteria di Sofia, Vagabond and Karibi in read more