Historical re-enactment in Svishtov

For a second year running, the Bulgarian town of Svishtov on the Danube River was the site of mock battles, re-creating the era when the area was the border of the Roman Empire.

Freight terminal in Svishtov port is expanded

Svishtov port, which serves most of northern, central and even southern Bulgaria, looks set to expand its capacity as interest from Macedonia and Kosovo.

Three-day ancient heritage festival in Svishtov

RIch in Thracian, Roman, Gothic and Slavic culture, Svishtov prepares to show its ancient roots

Earthquake shakes parts of Bulgaria, Romania

Seismologists register incident as 5.3 on Richter scale, with an epicentre in the region of Vrancea in Romania.

Bulgarian universities want to keep low numbers of new students

Keeping lower admission quota means higher quality of education, deans of Bulgarian universities say.

Roads in Bulgaria in good condition, poor visibility in some areas

The roads in Bulgaria are dry and cleared of snow, however in the mountainous regions at 1800m above sea level and higher there are sections that are partially coated with ice. The Shipka pass and other mountain passes in the mountains are still partially covered with snow, the National Road Infrastructure Agency said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Conditions for roads in Sofia and across the country

All major streets, boulevards, intersections and squares in Sofia have been cleared of snow since midnight last night and will be cleaned by noon today, Dnevnik daily reports. Streets in the outlying villages of Lozen, Kokaliane, German, Pancharevo, Vladaia and Bankya are also being cleared, although most inner-borough streets in Sofia will not be cleaned by the municipality.

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Bulgarian live pornography on American website

Up to 500 leva a session is what couples from the Svishtov region were said to have been paid to perform live sex sessions for an American pornographic website, Bulgarian media reported. A home in the centre of the northern Bulgarian town of Svishtov had been used for two years for the recordings and for uploading videos to the website.

Thank your saints

The top Bulgarian wine of 2008 highlights a native grape - and promises more goodness in years to come

Tastings and re-tastings finally allowed a conclusion: Santa Sarah Privat 2006 has been named the Bacchus Bulgarian Wine of the Year 2008. Bacchus, the Bulgarian magazine for wine and gourmet culture, announced the results of its first-annual competition at a ceremony at the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan on the evening of November 21.

Santa Sarah Privat 2006 named Bulgarian Wine of the Year 2008

Grab a corkscrew and say "nazdrave!", because the Bacchus Bulgarian Wine of the Year 2008 has been named: Santa Sarah Privat 2006. Bacchus, the Bulgarian magazine for wine and a gourmet culture, announced the results of its first-annual competition at a ceremony at the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan on the evening of November 21 2008. In the year leading up to this final announcement, more than 250 Bulgarian wines submitted to the magazine were evaluated, with the top 50 going on to the three-stage final.

Census of birds and a bike rally to celebrate the European Days of Birds 2008

A census of Bulgaria's bird population will be taken on The European Days of the Birds in October. The Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) will mark the fourteenth event by inviting Bulgarians to join the count on October 4 and October 5 2008. Everybody is welcome to take part in the census, and to choose where to count the birds: in the nearest garden or park, on their favourite mountain, or as part of groups organised by BSPB.

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READING ROOM: A history of protestantism in Bulgaria

In 1810, the American board of commissioners for foreign missions was created, representing the interests of American members of the Congregationalist and Presbyterian denominations of the era. Nine years later, in 1819, the board sent two of its missionaries to the Near East, where they found within the limits of the Ottoman Empire a multitudinous nation - the Bulgarians.

Goods for Kosovo to travel via Bulgarian port instead of Greek

Containers with goods from the Far East and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) could be delivered to Kosovo via the Bulgarian port of Svishtov instead of Thessaloniki in Greece, Svishtov port authorities said in a media statement. On June 19-20 2008, a Kosovar delegation visited the port to examine the prospects of part of the cargo shipped in containers from China to Kosovo to go through the Danube containers terminal in Svishtov, the port authorities said.

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Bus and truck drivers protest throughout Bulgaria

Protests by bus and truck drivers over increasing fuel prices continued throughout Bulgaria on May 30. This was the last day for which the Sofia municipality granted permission to protest on Sofia's ring road, deputy mayor of transport Velizar Stoilov told private broadcaster bTV.

Sherefe, nazdrave, sante

Association de la Sommellerie Internationale's annual Sommelier of Europe competition saw Isa Bal of Turkey taking home the title on May 19, after the final round of tests was held on the stage of Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia. The event took place as part of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) yearly congress and conference, organised in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Sommeliers (BAS), under the guidance of BAS president Maria Yordanova. It was held from May 16 to 19, mainly at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski in Sofia. Among the sponsors and hosts of the event were Belvedere and Katarzyna Estate, Moet & Chandon, Festa Wines, Vinprom Svishtov, Terra Tangra, Alsace Wines, Supermarket Elemag, Restaurant Moskva and Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov.

Good food deserves good wine

In order to show the practical side of a weekend dedicated to wine, three Sofia restaurants joined with different Bulgarian wine cellars for three evenings in which harmonious wine and food combinations were highlighted. The dinners were held because of the annual congress and best European sommelier competition of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) that took place at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski from May 16 to 20 2008, in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Sommeliers (BAS).

Ancient Thrace represents modern Europe in naming the best sommelier 2008

A golden phiale replicating an item from the Panagyurishte treasures of Ancient Thrace will, from this year on, be the trophy awarded in the annual Best Sommelier competitions of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale. In 2008, the contest for Best European Sommelier is being held in Bulgaria from May 15 to 20; it is the first time in the 20 years of its existence that the competition will be held outside of France.

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L'Incontro Allegro

For being a reputedly good area in which to live, Sofia's Doctors' Garden neighbourhood has a notable lack of good places at which to eat. Happily, reliably satisfactory Italian fare can be found at L'Incontro Allegro. In what was said to be first Korean restaurant in Sofia after communism ended in 1989, pasta and pizzas and traditional meat and fish dishes

70 years later, Varna's wine exhibition returns

Co-inciding with the release of the fourth edition of a map of wine in Bulgaria will be the Varna exhibition VinoTour, taking place from April 23 to 26 in Varna's Palace of Culture and Sport. The coming together of wine and tourism will be a marked change from the first Varna wine exhibition, held in 1928.

More areas to be included in Bulgaria's Natura 2000 network

On April 14 Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs (MOEW) announced that public hearings on 10 additional Natura 2000 zones would start throughout the country once Environmental Minister Djevdet Chakurov signed the draft orders on activities that would be banned or limited in these areas.

Sunday blog: The lust for luxe

Perhaps it stems from time spent editing, which, in turn, requires a greater attention each word; perhaps it is a result of coming from a country where having material and societal comfort is only normal, but this obsessive emphasis on exclusivity and luxury that Bulgaria places on things is disturbing. Take, for example, a new housing development at the base of Vitosha Mountain billed - granted, in an advertorial - as a "VIP village" complete with a "luxury hotel" and "central discreet security", designed by "prominent young Bulgarian architects".

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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.

Five new Natura 2000 zones up for public debate

Minister of Environment and Water Affairs Djevdet Chakurov signed the draft ordinances for five protected zones in the Bulgarian part of the European environmental network Natura 2000, the ministry's press service said. The ordinances concern the protected areas of Lomovete in Rousse municipality, Ribarnitsi Mechka (Fisheries Bear) in Rousse region, Central Balkan, Apriltsi near the cities Lovetch and Gabrovo, and Ostrov Vardim (Vardim Island) near Svishtov and Veliko Turnovo.