Dutch mayor investigated over conflict of interest in Bulgarian construction project

Leers, mayor of the Dutch town of Maastricht, faces investigation after accusations he abused his position in a personal matter, Dutch daily NRC reports.

Resignations follow bust of police racketeering group

If the entire town knew about the gang and their superior did not, that means that he did not have enough control over the work of his people, Interior Minister says.

Bulgarian Interior Ministry busts road police racketeering group

Eight Bulgarian road police officers from the town of Byala Slatina in north-western Bulgaria were arrested on suspicion of forming an organised crime ring that issued illegal traffic tickets.

Phew! What a scorcher – Bulgaria's emergency situations ministry issues heatwave warning

The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) has announced that on July 24 and 25, temperatures in places will exceeding 43C. The announcement was made three days after the coming heatwave was reported on television.

Shooting blanks

Defence Ministry’s administrative building draws no bids, while Sir Norman Foster’s Black Sea Gardens project is shelved

Vote-buying and other alleged irregularities on election-day - report

Election day 2009 saw countless reports of irregularities with most major parties accusing each other of vote-buying and other attempts to manipulate the election outcome.

Traffic cops caught taking bribe from a foreigner

The policemen were apprehended by a mobile unit of Interior Security and subsequently driven to the municipal directorate in the northeastern city of Rousse

Preparations begin for Varna's luxury yacht HYPO Bulgaria Boat Show in Varna

Apart from luxury yachts, guests at the annual HYPO Bulgaria Boat Show in Varna will see helicopters, sports cars, motor bikes, scooters, diving gear and other specialised sports kit

Massive fines for misuse of 112 emergency hotline

Bulgaria's Parliament passed on October 18 at the first reading the draft bill of the law on European emergency number 112, which envisions a maximum fine of 20 000 leva for misuse of the emergency line. The highest sanction would be imposed in cases when, as a result of the hoax phone call for help, the local offices for emergency reaction will have sent people out. In the milder cases, fines would range between 2000 and 5000 leva, Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik reported.

Farmers protest again

Wednesday seems to have become a traditional day for protests by dairy farmers and September 17 was no exception, with farmers protesting in a number of places in Bulgaria. Bulgarian dairy producers and other farmers have been demonstrating for more than a month, demanding the payment of their state subsidies for the months after February 2008. Now they insist on receiving 60 million leva promised by

28 new Natura 2000 zones added to Bulgaria's list

Environment Minister Djevdet Chakuroov has signed 28 new decrees, according to the European Union's (EU) Habitats directive, so paving the way for the inclusion of 28 new zones in Bulgaria's European environmental network Natura 2000, the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs (MOEW) said on September 8. The zones will be published in the State Gazette. The new members of the Bulgarian Natura 2000

Etar traditional crafts fair returns the first week of September

Bulgarian potters, weavers, coppersmiths, basket weavers, goldsmiths, saddler makers, cutlery makers, woodworkers, embroiderers, tailors and icon painters will show how the country's population made such traditional crafts in the days of yore during the sixth international traditional crafts fair Etar 2008. It will be held at the architectural-ethnographic reserve of Etar, near Gabrovo, in central Stara Planina

German national TV ARD shoots three films in Bulgaria

In the period of August 11 to 14, the German national television channel ARD and the federation of nature conservation non-governmental organisations Green Balkans will together be making three documentaries in Bulgaria about some of the most important and current local environmental problems. Each of the films will be about five minutes long and will be broadcast on ARD. The first reportage is

The Libya medics: A year of disillusionment

Could anyone in Bulgaria forget July 24 2007? It was the day when the six Bulgarian medics accused of deliberately infecting more than 420 children with HIV in Libya were returned to Bulgaria after spending eight years in Libyan prison. Speculation that they would be finally released had been floating around for several days by that time, so at first, few believed media

National briefs

Black Sea briefs

Press review: Headlines in Bulgarian papers on June 2 2008

These are some of the top headlines in Bulgarian newspapers on June 2 2008. The Sofia Echo has not verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Government taken to court over Natura 2000

The Union for the Protection of Private Proprietors (UPPP) took Bulgarian government to court over Natura 2000 environmental network, Investor.bg reported on May 12. In particular, the union contests a Governmental decision that put an environmental protection tag on territories, which are part of approved general and territorial master plans.

Spring edition of BalPEx opens doors in Sofia

Balkan real estate expo BalPEx, one of the largest of its kind in South-Eastern Europe, opened its doors on April 18. For three days, the event will showcase more than 150 urban and vacation developments, office, commercial and industrial space worth in excess of two billion euro. The event has gathered investors, lenders and non-banking financial institutions, consultants facing the real estate sector as participants.

A Spanish tail wind along the Danube

Spanish companies have the financial surplus, the proficiency and the experience that could be transmitted to Bulgaria, Spanish ambassador to Bulgaria Fernando Arias told a meeting of Spanish investors, experts and mayors from the Rousse region, held in the town of Rousse last week. Everything started when the ambassador established contact with the two big Spanish companies that are located in the city: Keros

Football referee attacked outside his home

Valeri Petrovski, 43-year old football referee was brutally assaulted in his car outside his home in Sofia in the early hours of March 7 2008. According to Bulgarian news agency Focus, at about 6.40am Petrovski was waiting in his car for his wife to come downstairs, reading a newspaper. At about that time two unidentified men attacked him with baseball bats and iron boxes and was found by his wife in helpless condition, broken knees and covered in blood. He was taken to Pirogov emergency hospital with serious injuries on the head. According to his relatives, Petrovski had not received any threats on the phone before the attack.

Days of national mourning-the sad statistics

March 5 2008 will be the eighth time Bulgaria declares a state of national mourning over the past 18 years. The first day of national mourning after the collapse of communism was declared on December 25 1990, by the Cabinet of by Dimitar Popov. The country then marked the death of 10 soldiers who drowned in Varbitsa river during a military exercise. On August 15 1995, the Cabinet of Zhan Videnov declared a day of national mourning following the death of 14 soldiers in a hellish road accident between their transport vehicle and another heavy vehicle. The 14 soldiers burned to death. The incident led to the resignation of then interior minister Lyubomir Nachev.

Rousse holiday property market losing appeal

Foreign interest in holiday properties in Rousse region has stalled because prices have soared immensely and available properties have lost their attractiveness, with the market is suffering a lack of retail space in Rousse's downtown, investor.bg reported on March 4 2008. Plots designated for construction of holiday houses command similar values in neighbouring municipalities: in Byala they score 21 euro a sq m, in Ivanovo - 24.5 euro a sq m, in Vetovo - 20 euro, in Dve mogili - 23 euro and in the villages around Rousse they fluctuate between 20 and 25 euro a sq m.

2007 IN REVIEW: Eco wave 2007

The seventh year of the new century was quite hectic for environmentalists in Bulgaria, as many new regulations came into effect since Bulgaria joined the European Union in the beginning of 2007, and correspondingly many more violations on environmental protection orders were registered throughout the country. The three main campaigns that environmentalists fought about were

ARCHITECT NORMAN FOSTER IN SOFIA

A commitment to sustainability in design, environmental surroundings and human use provide the basis for projects coming from the architectural firm Foster + Partners. Sir Norman Foster, in Bulgaria for the December 12 opening of the exhibition The Architecture of Norman Foster at the National Gallery for Foreign Art in Sofia; Spencer de Grey, a senior executive and head of design at Foster + Partners; Georgii

TOURISM BAROMETER: Hyper-construction concerns in Bulgaria

A slew of tourism resort proprietors renewed calls on developers to refrain from hyper-construction and from going beyond prescribed development deadlines. The call comes days after the construction season ending May 1 2008 began and as construction schedules both on the southern and northern coastlines rack up busy construction agendas. Elena Ivanova, head of the Union of Slunchev Bryag

The Diary

An egg sits in my fridge, waiting. Truth, ever since I was little and we were home schooled and went over to a friend's house one day and they showed us how they were raising chickens... and how they had cracked open a fertilised egg and glopped the half-chicken half-egg into a bowl and stuck it in the freezer... Ever since then I've had a slight fear of cracking eggs. So this one sits, entombed in a plastic egg crate.

Birariya Skakaouets

We're guessing that Birariya Skakaouets (Бирария Скакауец) takes its name from the song by the Bulgarian band called Hipodil, popular in 2003. (The word skakaouets itself is thought to be a corruption of the Egyptian word scarabaeus.) Whatever the case, it is, as far as we have been able to find, the closest restaurant to the National Museum of History, that one located far down the road in Boyana. Or, at least,

READING ROOM: Bulgaria in my heart

Foreigners anonymous: terrible tales of trauma and trickery

We had set up a small publishing company in Sofia in 2003. Our first product would be an expanded edition of a great Bulgarian historical novel, made easier for us by two of the earlier English translators being part of my partner's family. Our first step was to get copies of all previous editions of the book. I scoured Sofia bookstores and book tables and spent some months buying up early editions. One bookstore

READING ROOM: Neigbours, but not always friendly

Recently single and financially at an end, Elena Georgieva went to Greece in August 1992 on a "three-day holiday" organised by something that resembles a smuggling ring more than a tour operator. "We were like a herd of sheep: you set off for somewhere and you do not know where you're going, but you go with the hope that you'll be able to get something out of it. This way required the least amount of money to