Fri, Feb 10 2012
Bulgarian Foreign Minster Ivailo Kalfin and Japanese ambassador in Sofia Tsuneharu Takeda will sign on March 28 the contract for the preferential loan extended by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for Bulgaria to build two shipping terminals.
The amount lent will be 36.93 billion Japanese yen, or the equivalent of $369 million, will be used to build terminals at Bulgaria's Bourgas-Zapad and Varna-Iztok ports, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It was the biggest loan extended by Japan to Bulgaria so far as part of its development aid programme. Including this loan, the total amount of Japanese aid to Bulgaria, given under the form of low-interest loans, grants and bursaries will reach $1.2 billion.
Bulgarian shipping company Navibulgar will sell some of its current ships to help finance the deal. Five ships have so far been sold.
Iranian silver-plated pigeons, African leopard skins and a Chinese bronze yak were among the 70 items sold in an auction of gifts presented to Romania’s former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
Airports were also showing signs of better co-ordination and providing passengers with accurate real-time information, compared to previous period of travel disruption, transport commissioner Siim Kallas said.
Viktor Orban defends government's record, new constitution in state-of-the-nation address as he slams European Commission.
PM Donald Tusk invited authors, NGOs, experts and bloggers to a debate on the ACTA copyright agreement, but several key organisations, including the Helsinki Foundation, rejected the invitation claiming that the talks will likely offer no opportunity to discuss concrete issues.
'Dirty Jews' and 'Dirty Nazis' were the most popular chants when two groups clashed in front of Új Színház (New Theatre)