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27 March 2012, Issue 3351
by Novinite.com
Bulgaria's Daily Newspaper since 2001
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| BUSINESS POLITICS WORLD SOCIETY SPORTS FORUM |
Bulgaria-Romania 2nd Danube Bridge to Be Completed Nov 2012
 The construction of the long-anticipated second bridge linking Bulgaria and Romania across the Danube will be completed by November 2012, according to the Bulgarian government. read |
China Set to Invest in Bulgaria's Infrastructure, Renewable Energy
 Renewable energy and infrastructure are two of the key sectors where Bulgaria is about to see Chinese investments, according to the participants in a high-profile business forum read |
Bulgaria's Turkish Leader: Morals in Politics Are Detrimental
 Striving for morals in politics is detrimental for the State, according to Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish leader, Ahmed Dogan. read |
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BULGARIAN-RUSSIAN NUCLEAR PROJECT GROWS MORE MYSTERIOUS, SET FOR NEW DELAY
The fate of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project, which is supposed to become Bulgaria’s second NPP, has remained even more unclear after Monday’s phone conversation between the prime ministers of Bulgaria and Russia. After the long-anticipated conversation between Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his Russian counterpart and President-elect Vladimir Putin, the Bulgarian government press serviced issued a vague release, explaining Borisov had “informed” Putin of the decision of his Cabinet on whether to build the Belene plant, without really specifying what the respective position is. read more 
BULGARIA'S TOP COURT TO RULE ON US CO SHALE GAS PERMIT IN MAY Bulgaria's top court will deliver its decision on the appeal against the award of Vranino 1-11 block to US company Park Place in May, it emerged on Monday. The Bulgarian government has formally approved a 5-year concession for oil and gas prospecting in a 400 sq.km. area in northeast Bulgaria for North American company Park Place Energy Corp. read more CHINA SET TO INVEST IN BULGARIA'S INFRASTRUCTURE, RENEWABLE ENERGY Renewable energy and infrastructure are two of the key sectors where Bulgaria is about to see Chinese investments, according to the participants in a high-profile business forum The Bulgarian-Chinese forum was co-organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products. read more BULGARIA-ROMANIA 2ND DANUBE BRIDGE TO BE COMPLETED NOV 2012 The construction of the long-anticipated second bridge linking Bulgaria and Romania across the Danube will be completed by November 2012, according to the Bulgarian government. The construction of the bridge between Bulgaria's Vidin and Romania's Calafat by the Spanish company FCC was inspected Monday by Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski and EU Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev. read more BULGARIA'S LONG-DELAYED KEY TUNNEL PROJECT GETS ECO PERMIT One of the largest infrastructure projects in Bulgaria – though still only imaginary – the Shipka Pass Tunnel – has received the approval of the Bulgarian Environment Ministry. The Supreme Expert Environmental Council at the Minister granted a permit to the project on Monday, the Coalition for Sustainable Development, a NGO, has announced. read more BULGARIA DEVELOPMENT BANK GRANTS BGN 100 M FOR SME CREDITS The Bulgarian Development Bank will provide loans worth BGN 100 M at an annual interest rate of up to 7% to small and medium-sized companies. The funds will be provided under a credit line signed between the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and seven commercial banks - Unicredit Bulbank, DSK, Allianz, MKB Unionbank, ProCredit Bank, Municipal Bank and Societe Generale Expressbank. read more FITCH AFFIRMS UBB, TAKES IT OFF WATCH NEGATIVE Fitch rating agency announced it has removed from rating watch negative the United Bulgarian Bank, majority-owned by the National Bank of Greece. The agency has affirmed United Bulgarian Bank's (UBB) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B'. The outlook is negative due to pressure on its credit profile from weak asset quality and capitalization. read more 
BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TEST DRIVES CHEVROLET VOLT HYBRID Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev will test drive Monday the US-made Chevrolet Volt hybrid automobile. The test drive will begin at 11:30 am, the presidential press office informs. It will be held if front of the main entrance of the presidential office on 2 "Dondukov" boulevard. read more BULGARIAN PM 'INFORMS' PUTIN ON SAME-OLD BELENE NPP STANCE Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, has already notified his Russian counterpart and President-elect, Vladimir Putin, about the Bulgarian cabinet's decision on the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene. According to the cabinet's press office, the two had a phone conversation Monday morning. The exact content of the talk remains unclear with the press release only informing that when convenient for him, Borisov will inform the President and the Parliament. read more BULGARIA'S KOSTOV: AGONY OVER BELENE N-PLANT CONTINUES Bulgaria's agony over plans for a second nuclear power plant continues unabated, a rightist leader said on Monday as the final decision on the project was delayed yet again. Uncertainty over the fate of Belene nuclear power plant project only intensified on Monday after a keenly-awaited phone conversation between the prime ministers of Bulgaria and Russia. read more BULGARIAN WATCHDOG CLEARS ACQUISITION OF 3 WIND PARKS BY LUKERG RENEW Bulgaria's anti-trust watchdog has cleared a renewable energy acquisition involving Russian Lukoil. The Commission on Protection of Competition (KZK) permitted LUKERG Renew, a joint venture of Russian Lukoil and Italian ERG Renew, to buy three small wind parks near the northern Bulgarian Black Sea town of Kavarna. read more BULGARIA'S NATIONAL POWER UTILITY TO SEEK 15% PRICE INCREASE The National Electricity Company (NEK) is expected to seek a price increase of at least 15% from July 01, according to Mihail Andonov, the new Director of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). In a Monday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Andonov explained that the electricity prices approved by the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) for the regulatory period expiring in end-June were injurious to the company. read more BULGARIAN GORUBSO MINERS DEMAND MANAGEMENT AXING Workers at Bulgaria's Gorubso Madan metal mines expect to be invited by the new owner to negotiate new labor rules. Mehmet Budurov, representative of the trade union, says the miners will demand a nearly full replacement of the current management, adding the new director must work on internal rules for ways the salaries are paid. read more BULGARIAN UNPAID LEAD PLANT WORKERS STAGE ROAD BLOCKS Workers of the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardzhali, the leading Bulgarian non-ferrous metals producer, threaten road blocks on Monday if they do not receive their salaries. They demand from Bulgaria's newly appointed Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, to assist them in resolving the issue as it was the case with the Gorubso Madan metal mines. read more CZECH PRESIDENT KLAUS ARRIVES IN BULGARIA Czech President and former Prime Minister of the country, Vaclav Klaus, is arriving in Bulgaria Tuesday on a working visit. Klaus is traveling on the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart, Rosen Plevneliev. read more VICE PRESIDENT: CIVIL CONFISCATION IN EU WAS INSPIRED BY BULGARIA Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova has boasted that the recent proposal of the European Commission for a directive on the confiscation of criminal assets in the EU was inspired by Bulgaria and Ireland. On March 12, the European Commission proposed a set of measures aimed at improving the EU legal framework for the confiscation of criminal assets. read more BULGARIA'S TURKISH LEADER: MORALS IN POLITICS ARE DETRIMENTAL Striving for morals in politics is detrimental for the State, according to Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish leader, Ahmed Dogan. The statement has been made by the leader of the ethnic party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, on March 16th before participants in the national program "Management Skills," the Bulgarian Trud (Labor) daily writes, citing their own sources. read more BULGARIA'S SOCIALIST LEADERS SHOOT ONE ANOTHER IN HIT YOUTUBE VIDEO Bulgaria's Socialist Party leaders who are now battling for the chairmanship – ex President Georgi Parvanov and ex PM Sergei Stanishev – have ended up dueling in a hit YouTube video. The black and white video montage entitled "Duel - Parvanov-Stanishev" features Bulgaria's ex head of state and ex prime minister as Russian nobles in a duel with antiquated guns, speaking in Russian. read more DIRECTOR OF LARGE TAXPAYERS TAX DIRECTORATE IN BULGARIA DISMISSED Sfetan Trichkov, Director of the Large Taxpayers and Insurers Territorial Directorate of the National Revenue Agency (NRA), was dismissed Monday by the NRA CEO. The move was explained with the insufficient quality of work of the entity, according to a statement of the revenue authority. read more SPASKA MITROVA JOINS BULGARIA'S NEW NATIONALIST PARTY Bulgarian mother, Spaska Mitrova, who was thrown in Macedonian jail for three months in 2009 for preventing her former husband from meeting their child, has joined the new party of MEP, Dimitar Stoyanov. The Member of the European Parliament, previously from Bulgaria's far-right, nationalist Ataka party, Dimitar Stoyanov, together with fellow MPs who left Ataka, founded Sunday a new political party in Bulgaria, the National Democratic Party. read more PLOVDIV BISHOP: HOLY SYNOD COMMUNIST SPIES MUST REPENT OR RESIGN Bulgarian bishops, who have been exposed as agents or collaborators of the former Communist State Security must choose between repentance and resignation. The statement was made by Plovdiv Metropolitan Nikolay, speaking in an interview for TV7. Nikolay is one of the few in the Holy Synod, who have not worked for the former State Security. read more RESEARCHER SAYS RUSSIAN LEADER PUTIN HAS BULGARIAN ORIGINS Russia's newly-reelected former President Vladimir Putin has Bulgarian origins, a Bulgarian researcher claims. Prof. Dobrinka Raychinova, a graduate of the Moscow State University "Mihail Lomonosov", with degrees in engineering, and linguistics, says she has traced Vladimir Putin's descent to the town of Chiprovtsi in Northwestern Bulgaria, back to the 17th century. read more MOON, VENUS, AND JUPITER ALIGN IN RARE BRILLIANT SET Skygazers from around the world, including Bulgaria, will be treated Monday night to the rare opportunity of feasting their eyes on Jupiter, Venus and Moon arranged in a captivating triangular formation. On Monday night the waxing Moon (wider compared to last night) will align with Venus, while Jupiter will sit beneath the Moon-Venus pairing. read more BULGARIAN HEALTH MIN MULLS PAY RAISE FOR EMERGENCY STAFF Bulgaria's Health Minister, Desislava Atanasova, proposed a new plan to increase wages of emergency room doctors who currently get paid the dismal BGN 500 a month on average. Upon meeting Monday with representatives of doctors and patients organizations, Atanasova told journalists that she had found two options to do so – divert BGN 11 M, currently slated for the Health Ministry's capital expenses, for salaries, or redirect BGN 7-8 M from the Finance Ministry. read more LEVSKI SOFIA COACH RESIGNS AFTER SHOCK DEFEAT Levski Sofia head coach Nikolay Kostov surprisingly resigned on Monday, saying the team is not living up to his expectations and targets. "The team's performance is falling short of my expectations and the results achieved do not meet my plans from the time when I took over the post. This is the reason why I decided to quit as Levski head coach," Kostov said in a statement. read more GUNNED DOWN BULGARIAN IMPUDENT FEARED ATTACK ON LIFE The murdered defendant in Bulgaria's high-profile Impudent criminal case, Kiril Kirilov AKA Shkafa (The Commode) had expected to be attacked. His live-in girlfriend told the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, that Shkafa had been followed in recent days by a black SUV. read more BULGARIA RESUMES IMPUDENT KIDNAP CASE DESPITE MURDER The Sofia City Court resumed Monday the high-profile organized crime case codenamed The Impudent, after one of the alleged members of the gang with the same name was killed over the weekend. The magistrates lifted the charges against Kiril Kirilov AKA Shkafa (The Commode). Shkafa, who has a long rap sheet, was shot Saturday into Sunday in front of his apartment building in the Mladost-3 district. read more BULGARIAN CONSUMER PROTECTION WATCHDOG USED IN EMAIL PHISHING SCAM Bulgarian media have spread the word about a new email phishing scam. According to reports of private TV channel bTV, scores of Bulgarians claimed that they received an e-mail saying that a complaint had been filed against them with the Commission for Consumer Protection (KZP). read more SOUTH STREAM STICKS WITH BULGARIA Click here to read the story: www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=137884 OBAMA, MEDVEDEV PART WITH HEARTY LAUGHS BUT NOT ON MISSILE DEFENSE Russian-US relations are at an all-time high, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told US President Barack Obama at the global nuclear security summit in Seoul on Monday. At the same time, however, the seemingly cordial Obama-Medvedev talks in Seoul has made it clear the two powers keep failing to find a common stance on deployment of a missile defense system in Europe. Medvedev insisted however, that there is still time to negotiate. read more MERKEL: GREEK EUROZONE EXIT WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC The expulsion of Greece from the single currency zone will have catastrophic consequences, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned in stark contrast with the statements voiced by most EU officials. "It has major weaknesses but it is trying to overcome them, be they in the administration or the competitiveness of their business community. It is going to be a long and arduous road," Angela Merkel told BBC in an exclusive interview. read more TURKEY SHUTS DOWN EMBASSY IN SYRIA Turkey closed its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday over the deteriorating security situation in the country, the foreign ministry said. Activities at the embassy in the Syrian capital are being "temporarily suspended," but Turkey's consulate in Aleppo will remain operational, a brief statement posted on the embassy's website said Sunday night. read more CUBA CRACKS DOWN ON DISSIDENTS AHEAD OF POPE VISIT Dozens of dissidents have been arrested in Cuba, opposition groups said, ahead of the arrival Monday of Pope Benedict XVI in Havana. While the Roman Catholic Church and the Cuban government have stressed that Benedict's trip of just over 48 hours was merely a pastoral visit, the pope was expected to walk a political tightrope in the communist island nation, DPA said in a report Monday. read more FRENCH MUSLIMS RESENT SARKOZY'S BAN OF EGYPTIAN PREACHER The Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) on Monday expressed surprise at President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to ban an influential Egyptian preacher from visiting France next month. Sarkozy said earlier that Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi was not welcome in France, where he was scheduled to address a conference of the UOIF on April 6, along with fellow Egyptian preacher, Mahmoud El Masri. read more |
