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18:15 Wed 15 Oct 2008
Ahead of his third and final televised debate encounter with Barack Obama, John McCain was quoted as saying: "We've got them just where we want them". It seemed a strange thing to be saying after, in a few short days, a succession of five separate opinion polls gave Obama a read more
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10:30 Wed 15 Oct 2008
Life as an expatriate is not without its complications, and being a foreigner in Bulgaria is no exception. The issue of The Sofia Echo published on October 17 explores, in separate stories, how some private companies in Bulgaria are dealing with the question of signing read more
 
 
 
18:57 Wed 15 Oct 2008
Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci has promised that more Islamic states will recognise Kosovo. “This is an outcome of our diplomatic efforts and the support of our international partners,” Thaci told reporters on October 15, commenting on the announcement by the United Arab read more
 
17:19 Wed 15 Oct 2008
After reviewing a complaint filed by the Hungarian-based NGO Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC), the European Committee for Social Rights (ECSR) issued a statement saying that Bulgaria has discriminated against children with mental disabilities depriving them from an read more
 
 
 
15:52 Wed 15 Oct 2008
Greece has accused Macedonia of distorting the truth about an October 13 incident in which four Macedonian journalists were detained near a protest in northern Greece against military exercises in the read more
 
15:15 Wed 15 Oct 2008
On October 15, Sofia city hall said that it would hold a public procurement tender on October 23 to choose a company that would build a new bicycle lane in Sofia. The new lane, 6.1km long and linking Macedonia square to Knyazhevo district via Tsar Boris III Boulevard to read more
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BNB Fixing 15 Oct 2008
EUR1.3752USD
EUR0.7349GBP
EUR1.95583BGN
USD1.42221BGN
GBP2.5041BGN
 
 
 
 
Weekly news
 
Roast beefAfter one year of sliding down the slippery slope, no end in sight for Bulgarian stocksAlex Bivol
Roast beef
October has been, as a rule, a good time for the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) – optimistic investors returning from their summer holidays pushing stock indices ever higher. In October 2006, the blue-chip Sofix index charged past the 1000-points marker and a year later, when read more
 
Wolves and rabbitsMember of Parliament Tatyana Doncheva relates the funny side of Bulgarian politics mixed with national security issuesPetar Kostadinov
Tatyana Doncheva, one of the highest-profile politicians of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), compared her role in the row over the State Agency for National Security (SANS) to a joke. On October 3, she told Bulgarian National Television a joke about the rabbit being read more
 
Croatia and punishmentClive Leviev-Sawyer
Croatia and punishment
The murder in Zagreb of lawyer Ivana Hodak leads to the dismissals of the ministers of interior and justice and the chief of police, and highlights questions about Croatia’s capacity to fight organised read more
 
 
Telecom warsBulgaria gives the European Commission new reasons to doubt regulator’s independenceAlex Bivol
Telecom wars
Fierce market competition means Bulgaria’s three leading telecoms live in a state of uneasy truce at the best of times and it does not take much for them to start trading read more
 
Show timeBulgarian and foreign companies from the world of real estate converge for a three-day expositionSvetlana Guineva
Show time
For the fourth consecutive year, from October 10 to 12, the Balkan Property Exhibition (BalPex) will become a special venue for investors, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, consultants, advertising and real estate agencies from Bulgaria and abroad to expose new projects read more
 
 
 
 
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Hello Spain!Under the flag
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Hello Spain!
The Sofia Echo congratulates Spain on its political, linguistic, cultural, economic and culinary impact in Bulgaria. The country’s National Day is celebrated on October read more
 
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: A country apartSpanish chef Jose Luis Ruiz Comino takes Bulgarian tastebuds to the next levelMagdalena Rahn
In the year or so that he has been here, Jose Luis Ruiz Comino has picked up a few phrases in Bulgarian, and mixes them at whim with English and his native madrileno Spanish, much in the way he chops and mixes and blends ingredients in the kitchen. A chef by profession, a cook read more
 
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Luisa Fernanda Garrido Ramos: Instituto Cervantes has become a point of reference in terms of modern art in Sofia Magdalena Rahn
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Luisa Fernanda Garrido Ramos:  Instituto Cervantes has become a point of reference in terms of modern art in Sofia
Luisa Fernanda Garrido Ramos is the first director of the Insituto Cervantes in Bulgaria. She has been in the country since autumn 2005, to prepare for the cultural centre’s opening on February 10 2006, in the presence of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain, and read more
 
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Keep building…abroadBulgaria’s construction boom has proved a top appeal to Spanish investors.Elena Koinova
¡HOLA BULGARIA!: Keep building…abroad
Spain’s over-development of its coastline for tourism and second homes, eventually leading to government approval for a coastline facelift worth billions, has had its upside. The hyperactive construction period nurtured expertise in real estate, construction and read more
 
 
 
 
Uncivil civil servants Gabriel Hershman
Uncivil civil servants
I once had a physics teacher at school, a raving lunatic of a man, who would unleash tirades against people and institutions he disliked. We were putty in his hands, in a way enjoying the distraction rather like amused witnesses to a demented drunk on a train. He always capped read more
 
Calling the shotsVanya Rainova
Calling the shots
I woke up thinking of Tillie Olsen. She was an American writer, associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists, best known for her collection of four short stories Tell Me a Riddle, a staple of college and university literature read more
 
Topping the chartsElitsa Grancharova
Topping the charts
What would one answer if asked what the biggest environmental problem in Bulgaria was? For me, none of the numerous environmental problems in the country would be the worst, since they all share the number one slot. The initial impact is on the natural environment, caused by read more
 
 
FIFTH IN A ROW
FIFTH IN A ROW
One Life Bulgaria’s fifth annual charity bike ride surprised cyclists with sunny weather this year along the route from Borovets resort in Rila Mountain to read more
 
Favourites to lose Bulgaria entertains Italy in a world cup qualifier in an attempt to restore some of its past fameNick Iliev
In light of the October 11 world cup qualifier between Bulgaria and Italy bookmakers are pegging 13-5 for Bulgaria and Italy to draw, 9-1 for Bulgaria to win and 9-4 for Italy to win. The odds are supported by the Bulgarian star player Dimitar Berbatov who on arriving at read more
 
 
Tour of the Boliarka Brewery Holly Edwards
Tour of the Boliarka Brewery
If there’s one thing the Bulgarians do really well, it’s beer. Just as well, really, because it’s everywhere and very good it is, too. Despite the price rises since Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, beer still remains reassuringly, almost embarrassingly cheap, but this is no read more
 
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