Daily news
Top News
 
13:44 Wed 07 Jan 2009
Governments in more than a dozen countries in Central and South Eastern Europe responded variously with emergency talks, protest notes, restrictions on energy usage and switches to alternative supplies as crisis around the severance of gas from Russia read more
Top News
 
13:18 Wed 07 Jan 2009
Following the halted supplies of Russian natural gas to Bulgaria on January 5 2009, Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov introduced a plan that aims to reduce energy consumption throughout the city. The first to go were the lighting of public buildings, Borissov told reporters on read more
 
 
 
20:57 Wed 07 Jan 2009
Petko Sertov, head of Bulgarian State Agency for National Security (SANS) has issued an order to declassify information about the Gallery case, Bulgarian broadcaster Mediapool.bg said. The Gallery case followed SANS's investigation into and subsequent close down of the read more
 
20:31 Wed 07 Jan 2009
The Sofia Administrative Court (SAC) threw out the request of the owners of nightclub Amnesia to reverse the order of the Directorate for National Construction Supervision (DNSK), which prohibited the use of the club, Bulgarian broadcaster Mediapool.bg said. The club made read more
 
 
 
20:15 Wed 07 Jan 2009
Romania declared a state of emergency on January 7 as deliveries of Russian natural gas had ceased, international news agencies reported. Romanian economy minister Adrian Vidyanu said the state of emergency had been declared to legally empower Transgaz to ensure gas supples read more
 
19:45 Wed 07 Jan 2009
Amidst the natural gas crisis, Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Georgia, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, and the Ukraine, among others, celebrated Christmas on January 7, following to the Julian calendar. According to Reuters, because of the gas crisis between read more
Free Daily News Alerts
BNB Fixing 07 Jan 2008
EUR1.3332USD
EUR0.7362GBP
EUR1.95583BGN
GBP2.13146BGN
USD1.46702BGN
 
 
 
 
 
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